I know this film didn’t get a wide theatrical release in the U.S., but I got to see it at a local “Best Picture” festival they had at a local theater.
I was absolutely floored by this movie. Brie Larson was incredible (and won the Oscar) and this movie probably won my personal best picture award. It was really good.
If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and don’t read much about the movie before watching it. I knew little going in, and it was pretty awesome to have the film unfold the story without me knowing how it was all going to end.
There is a part in this movie, where if you have a 5 year old, have children, or ever plan on thinking of having children, you will have a hard time watching. The tension in “Room” and the aftermath of events within had the packed audience in our theatre gasping out loud.
Superbly made film. Deserved all the nominations it got, and Brie Larson deservedly won her first Oscar in this. The child actor they had was also quite good.
Saw this a few months ago… generally speaking I liked it, and Brie Larson is pretty amazing and yeah, I went in knowing absolutely nothing about it (I kept guessing it was post-apocalyptic). I loved how all the little things in the first half hour or so led added up to the second act, but I didn’t like how it eventually played out in that second act. Then the third act keeps going and… it was weird to know how to feel about how the movie kept going.
But yeah, the acting (aside from William H. Macy who I thought was just a bad part) was top notch.
When Jack is in the cop car, waiting, at the house in the dark.
That was probably the worst a movie has made me feel in a long time.
This is one of those movies where I wanted to be able to pause it and step out for a second for a breath of air.
The 2nd and 3rd acts are quite a tonal shift, but I really did enjoy that the movie wasn’t just about an event, but about the aftermath as well. And how even after a tragic events have occurred, and you are safe, you haven’t really escaped.
I was really underwhelmed by this. Brie Larson is great – she’s always great – but I thought the child actor was terrible. And I’m with Dr. Crypt. After an interesting first half, what a conflicted mess of a second half. Everything potentially interesting gets flushed down the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie of the Week toilet. Whereas Alan Dunkin thinks William H. Macy is in a bad part, I’m inclined to think the problem is that the part wasn’t explored at all. Here’s this intriguing perspective simply dropped on the table and left inert because the writer (?) had no idea what to do with it.
But to be fair, Room is my second favorite movie about…
I thought Macy’s character was going to come back, but he didn’t. They didn’t explore why he left or how his departure affected anyone, just that the other guy stepped in for him.
ya, really weird comment. I’d have a hard time to remember a better child actor in such a heavy role. The kid managed to be natural while still expressing emotions in a clear way.
But Tom also thinks the second half is a “conflicted mess” while I’d argue the 2nd half is necessary or the movie isn’t more than tragedy porn.
The kid was overobvious, shrill, and didn’t seem to connect with any of the other actors in any meaningful way. You can see Brie Larson and Joan Allen working with him without being giving very much. He’s the type of kid actor who you can tell is being puffed up by adults just outside the frame. I suspect he was cast because he was photogenic, and not because he was authentic. Maybe in a better or different movie, I wouldn’t have minded him so much. He’d make a pretty good Annie!
Leinad, I didn’t think the role was very heavy at all. I mean, it’s basically a movie about a child being sheltered, so I didn’t get any sense of weight from the role, much less the actor. That was almost 100% Brie Larson’s job. But for an example of what I think is great acting from a child, check out Witch. Amazing work with some really heavy material. And for a movie that makes very good use of someone who was on par with Jacob Tremblay, check out Babadook.
Gonna say, I completely and utterly disagree with you on this. I think he was great. Vulnerable when he needed to be, shrill and combative (like any child) when he needed to be. His character reminded me of a lot of shy 5 year olds I have met.
I would agree that the second half of the film is a bit more directionless than the first, but I thought that was the point, as characters don’t really know what to do post room.
Either way, at least go see Room for Brie Larson’s performance. Great stuff.
I liked this movie but I really could have done without the Jacob Tremblay voice overs. Just the worst. I liked him OK the rest of the time, though. Maybe child narration needed to begin and end with Days of Heaven.
The characters can be directionless, but that doesn’t let the filmmakers off the hook for giving each character a satisfying arc. When I saw Room, and they escaped halfway through, I remember thinking to myself: “A lesser film would end here, and not deal with the aftermath.” By the end of the movie, though, I felt they dropped the ball so badly. I ended up wishing they’d ended halfway through,
The problem with Room is that the real story isn’t about how the kid copes with the outside world, post-Room; it’s about how Brie Larson’s character does. And the filmmakers fumble that badly, without ever giving her character any real resolution, especially pertaining to her relationships with the other people in her life. It’s a credit to Brie Larson’s performance that the movie works as well as it does, given how little she was ultimately given to work with.
Child acting is sometimes hard to watch, and I agree with Jon Rowe here, I though Jacob Tremblay did well. That being said I also did not like the voice-overs. Brie Larson and Joan Allen may have brought out the best from him, however his ability to go from oblivious, to curious, to shrill made it more authentic than anything. Hopefully we can see Trembley in a different role and see where that leads us.
Moreover I found the second-third act of this movie surprising. “Fumbling” is a perfect way to describe their lives post-crisis. Not being a fan of definite resolutions in movies gravitates me firstly, but I’d also find it inappropriate in this case.
Maybe going in with no expectations or knowledge of “Room” made my experience what it was, therefor my enthusiasm and utter emotional satisfaction isn’t critical enough. Regardless, I’d have a hard time not recommending it.
I liked that the movie didn’t end with the escape.
But, I would agree about the voice-overs. They aren’t really necessary. I think they are a hold-over from the book the film is based on, which is written from the child’s perspective. The movie, thankfully, is not completely set up that way.
I also think that going into this movie blind other than “Brie Larson is pretty good in this” did a lot in my favor. As the whole situation is a lot to digest, and the movie does a really good job in the first half, of drawing you into that tiny world, and feeling really bad for the people trapped in there. But, I also like that the second half exists in the way that it does, because movies always tend to end with a “happily ever after” which is such a cop out. Especially after a tragic event such as this. There is real pain and healing that needs to occur, and maybe this movie didn’t tell that story as perfectly as it could have, I thought it was pretty great. I would stand by my 5/5 Best Picture review.
Jon, I don’t think anyone’s trying to change your mind. That’s not the point of a movie discussion. :) And it’s also entirely possible for two people to have radically different opinions on a performance! In fact, opinions about performances are really difficult to articulate exactly because it’s such a subjective thing. It’s like asking whether someone has charisma. So I appreciate the discussion about Tremblay. For what it’s worth, pretty much everyone in Hollywood agrees with you. This kid is the next big thing. Well, little thing.
Great pull. But, yeah, there are a fair number of things that need to begin and end with Terence Malick.
