'Room' (15)

*****

Jack has never been outside Room; his world is Bed, Wardrobe, Sink, Carpet, and Ma. Shortly after his fifth birthday, Ma starts to tell him of a world beyond Room, a world she used to live in, and how she needs his help to get back there.

 

This is a film about abduction, rape and depression, and yet it is not a sad story - it is ultimately extremely uplifting, moving and life-affirming in ways that I don't think I'll be able to describe here. The set up is immensely bleak: a young woman has been abducted and held prisoner, repeatedly raped over a period of seven years, in that time having a child, Jack. However, whilst the theme may be explicit, the film is not. The whole point of Ma's (Brie Larson) existence has become a battle to protect Jack (Jake Tremblay) from the horror of what is happening, and, as such, we are not witness to the abuse she suffers, the camera instead lingering on Jack in these moments. It is a wise choice by director Lenny Abrahamson, somehow making the film more haunting than if we had seen everything. Abrahamson is not trying to shock us, he is trying to make us engage with these two characters, and he does so admirably, from almost the very first frame.

 

Brie Larson has been tipped to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards, and, honestly, I can think of no one more deserving of such an accolade. Her Ma is both strong and vulnerable, loving and bitter, the 17 year old who was captured and a woman aged beyond her years by her experience. It is a powerful and nuanced performance, subtle and all-consuming at the same time. Newcomer Jake Tremblay is equally as good, and the duo create a formidable on screen pair. The cast is ubiquitously excellent, but these are the two we spend the film with, especially that first hour, and we root for them completely and utterly.

 

Although the film is undoubtedly amazing, there were some elements that didn't work for me. I wasn't a fan of Jack's voice over, spoken as if he was some kind of ethereal child, and I felt the parts spent away from Room were almost rushed after such a slow and steady build up, especially the TV interview. These are only minor quibbles, however, and didn't alter the emotional punch I felt whilst watching.

 

Whilst in the cinema, I inevitably shed a few tears - it was impossible not to - but it wasn't until I got home and I'd had time to digest what I'd experienced, that I fully appreciated the work of art that I had just seen. In fact, I had a little cry again. Not because the story is sad, but because it is quite the opposite, and because it is moving in a way that is so profound it doesn't feel like a film. Go see it and find out for yourself.