Well this shouldn't take too long, this month I've picked up Studio Canal's Acclaimed Room from my local Flea Market, and Since at time of writing, I was Stuck in the First Week of Hell Month over on Enlightened Towers, I have being Busy every other day between wrestling payperview results to get this out before the Christmas Special Rush! So let's get through this wonderful piece of Forgotten Greatness. This Is Room.
THE FOLLOWING FILM IS RATED 15 FOR STRONG LANGUAGE, WHICH WILL BE CENSORED, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, INJURY DETAIL, COERCION AND IMPLICATIONS OF CONCEPTION AFTER R*PE. DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Box art, I'm Afraid, is nothing to write home about. It's a white Background with scenes from the movie in smaller photos. But in Stark Contrast to a movie with a similar boxart I've reviewed, that of Lay The Favourite, at least this movie cover conveys emotion.
We open with a few Soundless Closeups of the Surroundings of two prone Sleepers, Before Brie Larson's voice tells the other to go back to sleep.
We cut to the next morning, as Sunlight Shines into the Small Prefab-like Room through a single roof window to a living space with a kitchenette, an oven, a closet, a sink and bathtub and a mattress on the floor and drawings on the walls. As Jack (Jacob Tremblay) Explains he has only known Room all his life and Today is his Birthday as he Turns 5. And won't shut up about it, as his tired Mother gives him vitamins and Breakfast who looks on with a face of someone who has lost the will to live.
And what is the Name of this mother...."Ma"!
No really, for most of this film she is Ma and though she reveals her name, Jack never calls her anything else.
So something is very wrong with this situation, That much is clear, but to add to the Surprise and shock, Jack is a Naïve boy with no concept of the real world beyond what he is allowed to watch on television, So he is Framed as a Unreliable Narrator, which works in the film's favour.
For instance, Ma has a sore tooth, which because of their confinement, she can't get it treated, So instead, She'll distract her Son with making a Birthday cake like on TV!
So the two live a regimented life where Ma Promotes some basic hygiene and exercise as well as chores like moving the mattress away in the mornings and back at night. And finally they make a cake, and it's kind of Pathetic, a Single layer of Sponge covered in Icing with a number 5 etched by a finger, with TV as a reference his whoe life, Jack is saddened by what he sees. There aren't even any candles, So he won't even eat it! After the tantrum, Ma Hugs the Child, After explaining she usually gets the Basics from an outside source, Which Jack believes to be Magic from the tv world courtesy of the outside source named "Nick". We also learn Jack has no concept of time when he says "Next Week, when I turn 6, I want Candles on my cake!"
After a Shared Bath, it's time for bed, but not before a Bedtime Story, and the one Ma chooses? The Count of Monte Cristo.
Yeah, I didn't think I was going to use memes on a film this Acclaimed, But~
After Singing Jack to Sleep, we get to see What REALLY Is up, Ma and Jack are Kidnapping Victims and both are under the mercy and Stockholm Syndrome of "Old Nick", who provides basic needs and demands Sex**l favours for anything else beyond that. As Jack is awakened by Nick from his sleeping space in the closet, keying in a pin number, putting a bag of Groceries on a counter, stripping off his trousers, and getting into Ma's bed. He leaves before the next morning.
Now 5, Jack is Curious about the world. But he doesn't know what's real and what's on TV. It seems like the Kidnapper has promised Jack a Dog called Lucky to him Quiet.
After Another Night in Room, the following morning Ma Bites into an apple and her bad tooth just pops out!
That Night Jack Finds a mouse in Room and feeds it, until Ma scares it away by throwing tinfoil at it, stating the mouse would eat their food quicker and make them Sick. The Kidnapper, Nick is getting angry that Ma's Curious child is asking questions-Questions she can no longer answer and so she backlashes by telling Jack that Nick Denied ever promising a dog called Lucky, and that he made it up, which upsets the boy!
One night Occupying Jack with Egg-shell Garlands, Jack asks where do we go when we Dream, Ma just says We Don't Go anywhere, there is only Room. It seems that despite that, Ma is spitting up Nick's Kool-aid! When Jack wakes, on the counter next to a Defeated Ma is a toycar. she must have convinced Nick in someway, but given her demeanor, it probably won't be pleasant given the mood she's in. when she hears how noisy the car is, she gets her son and tells him it's time for a game that always play!
"Scream At the Aliens"
It's them Screaming at the Window and Vents hoping that someone would find them, but it's framed as a game for the young child. Not only does it not work but even worse the oven malfunctions. That Night, Nick's (Sean Bridger) face is finally revealed, as he berates his victim for being useless, and breaks it to her that he has being laid off for 6 months, so "This Project" may end. Ma asks if Sean can just get a new job, which causes the Kidnapper to jump off the deep end, causing, Jack who is watching all this in his closet, to audibly gasp for Jack to notice. He pulls out a bar of chocolate to bait him for a beating, only for Ma to convince him to come to Bed.
So as Punishment for asking more than what they need, Nick spends the night in Room. Curious, Jack leaves the closet to look at the sleeping man, who suddenly wakes up. This causes Ma to wake up and Freak out, attacking Nick who Strangles Ma and leaves her bruised!
The Next Morning, On a winter day, the frosted Border on the Ceiling window It's only indicator. The Jack breathes out cold air and gleefully wakes his mother to tell her "I'm a Dragon!" Ma panics and finds out as a second Punishment, Nick has cut the power to Room. It's only Now she decides to escape with her son, and the way possible is to find out how the mouse got in Room in the first place, But explaining the concept of "Outside" and "Reality" maybe harder than she thought!
REALLY?
Because, and Correct me if I'm wrong, But Did you just read The Count Of Monte Cristo to him? I think he understands what being a prisoner is.
But Instead of that Book, she uses Alice in Wonderland of all things to explain she was kidnapped by "Nick" who may not be his real name and being kept here for 7 years, But Jack is asking too many stupid questions to get a Word in Edgewise!
She comes out with it, Nick kidnapped her 7 years ago, and trapped her in a Shed, Room is this Shed, That's Shut Tight With a Keypad, a Combination only Nick Knows. Jack Doesn't Believe a Single thing, But since he was lied to all his life, can you really blame him?
That Night, Nick returns the power But Joy ("Ma") is too Depressed and Defeated to care, and in Turn Jack is left in his own mind and Imagination as Joy Bounded in Malaise refuses to get out of bed!
Some time later, Joy Does Get out of bed as Jack is watching tv, he's asking if the things he sees are real or not. When he asks if Little House On the Prairie is real, Ma Takes that opportunity to Correct his Concept of time Problem, So Joy explains that this is not the first time she tried to escape. The reason the Toilet has no lid is that she used it to attack Nick, but it ended up being the reason her Wrists are permanently injured. But Nick has screwed up by shutting off the power During a Cold Winter, and it has given her an idea!
TRIGGER WARNING FOR UNSETTLING BEHAVIOUR
The Plan is to fake a fever using Jack as the Patient, so Joy Boils Water to Redden the Child's Face, puts Him to bed, and then proceeds to force herself to Vomit and spreads it on his pillow to replicate Sickness. He has a note put on his person to give to a doctor when Jack leaves. He also for some reason to convince strangers to save Ma, has her tooth hidden on him.
But Nick Decides to get him Stronger Pills and leaves, Their only chance Finished and they probably will never get another one.
The Next idea to escape comes from Looney Tunes, to have Jack play dead, So Nick would Dump his Body in a carpet, But the idea of it, only upsets Jack, as seeing Joy nearly die in front of him triggers a new found sense of Morality.
It's a Terrible plan, yes, but it's the only one they have. They Practice until Jack is no longer afraid of being Wrapped up tightly.
Unfortunately Nick arrives 5 minutes early to see Joy wrap Jack in the carpet. Thankfully Nick is so Apathetic and cold, he buys Ma's Story, seeing the Death of Jack as nothing more than a Inconvenience that can be fixed, no questions asked.
And So Jack is put into a pickup Truck by his Kidnapper and driven out of a Suburban Area, Remembering his mother's instructions, he unfurls the carpet hiding place, he's overwhelmed by all the outside Sights as Sensations, But Sensory Overload will have to wait, But when Nick swerves his car to avoid pedestrians, Jack loses his footing and falls back, Now Alerted by the noise, Nick Parks his truck and attempts to catch the boy on foot.
Jack Bumps into a Man walking a Rottweiler and when knocked over, Jack is Snatched by Nick, However the Concerned Citizen asks too many Questions and gets Nick so Angry, he abandons Jack to Return to Room.
The Man calls the police, who ask About what happened, But Jack can't remember Ma's Given name-However in his mouth, he has smuggled out Ma's Rotten Tooth and gave it to the policewoman he is talking to.
Given Jack's limited Understanding and Shock to his system, The Two Beat Cops have a hard time finding Room, in fact at first they think Jack was either on Drugs or escaped from a Cult. But when Jack remembers the word "Shed" the colour of the pickup and how many Corners the red pickup took, the pieces come together, much to the male cop's Amazement.
Jack is left in the car and starts to panic over his mother, then out of the night, Joy is rescued by the female cop as Jack and Joy break down when they see each other, The Sound of their tears replaced by Emotive Music. In the cop car, Jack tells his mother he's tired, But the Reality sets in, Room was the only bit of Comfort Jack ever knew!
Jack is taken to Hospital and he has never seen that many people in one place, he wakes up next to Ma, in a hospital Bed. In just his underwater, in a sterile ward In a Multistorey Hospital, Looking Down at the ground from a height for the first time is Jarring for him as he returns to his mother's side. She explains that they were on the news overnight and their family, Namely Joy's parents are coming to meet them and take them to their home until things can get sorted out! Ma tells her son that things will be different from now on, and they will never to worry about "Nick" ever again!
A Doctor comes into Examine Joy and Jack whilst Bringing them Breakfast while giving them Sunglasses, Sunscreen and A Medical Face mask to ease The Boy's Acclimation to the outside world as well as prescribe Joy with pills for her Wrists and Sleep Deprivation, the former will need Surgery to correct!
That's when Joy's parents (Played by William H Macy and Joan Allen) find their daughter by barging into the ward, the loud noises Startling Jack.
Jack in his own innocent Narration confirms that the Kidnapping had Destroyed Joy's parents' Marriage: her Childhood Home Sold, Leading to a Divorce and Grandma to Remarry. The Newsomes return to a Media Circus, and the cheering and cameras overexcites Jack, making him unable to talk Directly to Family and Grandma's New Husband Leon, whose home the heroes will get living in at the moment. Grandpa comes back from taking a Phonecall to tell the rest, "Nick" is requesting a trail. Jack is shown Joy's childhood room, which was kept the same way it was 7 years ago. Grandma's asks Jack whether he would like a haircut in the morning, he tells her, through Joy, "That's where his Strong is, like Samson!"
The first family dinner of this blended Family, and Grandpa is Drinking and Distant-Never a Good sign. But Grandpa cannot look at his own Grandson, Possibly due to Jack's Parentage, Causing Grandpa to leave, and causes Jack and Joy to retire for the night.
The Next morning Jack Is Shown Pictures of Joy's high school days, as a relay Runner, Bitter that A) she was not as fast as she thought seven years ago and B) her friends didn't care enough to keep searching.
As the Feel good moment of the happy ending starts to wane, Reality once more ironically makes the Newsomes Prisoners, they cannot leave until the State can give them Safe Accommodations, While the trial is in it's processing stage. However Leon is a good man, who Despite Joy's Reservations, gets Jack out of his shell a little, He offers Jack a meeting of his dog, and Jack is about to lie About "Lucky " though he does Admit to the lie later.
Jack is Been seen by a Psychiatrist, and he's thriving Emotionally very Quickly. Same cannot be said about Joy, who is annoyed by Jack's Mobile phone and just want to be left alone, for the first time in Jack's Life, She gets angry with Jack! She tells him to leave her alone and play with his toys-toys mind you, he has no Idea how to play with. This upsets Grandma and Joy lashes out on the insinuation she's a bad mother, it gets worse when Joy blames her for the Kidnapping, that if Mom didn't harp on about "Being Nice" she would never have being fallen for Nick's fake pleas of help!
Things get a lot rougher when Joy is to be interviewed for a News Programme. It will be broadcast live, and she gets very upset by the Questions, Jack has snuck in to set to hear the interview-And the Reporter asking if Nick is Jack's Father, which Joy confirms, which leads to hard questions about how the question of his father would effect his future.
The Next morning, the day starts with the Newsomes ruminating over these decisions....And Joy Decides on picking the Wrong one!
TRIGGER WARNING FOR SCENE OF DRUG OVERDOSE.
Jack wakes to go to the bathroom and pushes the door, which is blocked, with his strength, it's only enough to see through a crack in the door Ma Slumped after taking pills, everyone panics until EMTs cart her in an Ambulance.
Despondent and holding her tooth and lying on her bed, he gets a call from the Hospital and he's angry she would do that!
After a few Days Grandma takes Jack out Shopping to make Cupcakes when they get home. She's impressed her Grandson can crack eggs, he has done it before in Room, She's Asks what else did he and Joy do, which he doesn't Elaborate but does say he misses it! And how it didn't feel small, because Ma was There.
Leon Arrives home and True to his word, Shows Jack his dog.
In the Time Joy took to recover, Jack has Developed enough Social Skills to pass off as a normal child, When looking at Pictures of his Mother at his age, He Decides to Cut of his hair and sent it to Her, "Because Ma Needs The Strong More than Me!" When Cutting Her grandson's hair, she tells him Ma is in a situation where It's Required that people to be For her, that Noone is strong on their own, And so Jack has a haircut...Which unfortunately got Spoiled by the cover!
Jack is playing with a boy his age when He finds out at home that Ma has being Remitted, Jay reveals she got his hair in a bag and tells her son "You saved me, Again!"
But Ma Breaks down, She thinks she is not good enough to deserve Jack, But Jack is happy that He had her for so long.
And So Jack and Joy live in a normal life after joining the real world, But Jack has a longing to see Room one for time, But when they get to Nick's Property the Police are already there with a JCB to demolish the Shed. Once they look inside, all traces of their life as captives have either being Destroyed or taken as evidence. But Jack says goodbye to his remaining "Friends"; The sink, the table, the wardrobe and other fixtures. Then Jack asks his mother "Was it always this small?" And so the film ends with The Newsomes walking out of Nick's property as the the Police in the foreground close in to destroy Room, so it would never happen again!
THIS FILM IS GREAT!
Long before the bomb that was Ms Marvels, Brie Larson had her Breakout Role in this film, Young Jacob Tremblay held his own as the naïve boy with a performance filled with a surprising amount of conviction. Sean Bridger was Superbly cast as Nick, Balancing Terror and Being Pathetic without making the audience feel sorry for him. With Macy and Allen Providing great support in this small cast. On the technical side, The Cinematography is Vibrant despite the confinement, playing with Light contrast to make us feel what Jack is feeling being in direct sunlight for the first time in 5 years. And the score is Emotive, As a matter of fact, The music carries the film's sense of Curiosity and Bewilderment, though it can be hard to watch (The scene where Joy forces herself to vomit and smears onto and near her child, made me cringe when I saw it!)
A wonderful adaption of Emma Donahuge's Book, Nicely Co-produced by the Irish film board!
CREDITS
Room was Reviewed Compiled and Edited by Eamonn Bermingham
With Media From
Room
Star Trek The next Generation
Marenghi's Darkplace
Room was Produced by Filmnation Entertainment, Telefilm Canada, the Irish Film board, Film4, No Trace Camping, Element Pictures and Duperele Pictures. And it was Distributed in Britain by Studio Canal. All rights reserved. All Media used belong to their respective owners!
NEXT MONTH ON BOGGER BOX OFFICE!
CHRISTMAS EPISODE, ROLL OUT!
To Celebrate 40 years of Transformers, my last review of 2025 is Transformers One, a revised Origin Story of the Franchise.
