ROOM: A Horrific Story Told Humanly (Review)

Every now and then, we hear stories about people in horrific situations. These stories are sensationalized and repeated throughout the media and online. Some people obsess over the grim details, some over the legal effects, and some over the medical parts. The people involved in these situations are mere names, forever associated with "what took place." What gets forgotten is that these victims, these survivors, are people too. Humans who have to carry their baggage with them, and figure out a way to survive the burden.

Room, the new film from Lenny Abrahamson (Frank), tells the story of Joy Newsome, played by Brie Larson (Short Term 12, 21 Jump Street). Joy was held captive for seven years in a woodshed by a serial rapist. She has a five year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), whom she raises to believe that their Room is the entire world. The TV people are fake, and right outside the shed is outer space. When Joy finds out that her captor (Sean Bridgers) is out of a job and might kill them, she hatches a dangerous plan to escape.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the screenplay. Room also stars Joan Allen (The Bourne Supremacy), William H. Macy (Shameless) and Tom McCamus (Orphan Black). Danny Cohen (The King's Speech) handled the cinematography, with editing by Nathan Nugent.

The first half of the film shows Joy aka "Ma" in her everyday life with Jack in Room. The film is claustrophobic and maddening, with Cohen's unflinching camera capturing every small inch of Room. Their every day routines are as normal as possible, but Jack's maturation is heavily stunted due to the captivity. They are visited by their captor, whom they call Old Nick, when he comes by once a week to deliver supplies and bully Joy into submission. It's a harrowing piece of footage, with Joy trying hard to hide her devastation and hopelessness.

The best sequence in Room is when Joy puts into action her plan to get Jack out of Room. It's a tense sequence, where pretty much everything goes wrong. Tightly edited and breathlessly executed, the midway point of the film allows for Abrahamson to show off just how cramped Joy and Jack were, by shooting in wide lens almost immediately after Jack gets out. Jack's first few hours in the real world are difficult, because he doesn't know how to communicate with people or even trust them.

It's shown in the trailer so it's no spoiler that Joy and Jack ultimately do escape and reach their home. They move in with Joy's mother (Allen) and her live-in boyfriend Leo (McCamus). So in a technical sense, the first half of the film is quite impressive. Abrahamson does a lot of with limited space. By comparison, then, the second half doesn't feel as viscerally impressive. On a thematic level, however, the scenes with mom and son adjusting to the real world are riveting and painful. Joy has to answer to different people in different ways: she's a mother to Jack, she's a victim, she's a survivor, and she's a daughter.

Brie Larson really captures the complexity of her situation; you would think that the inner rage and sadness she had in Room would translate to relief and happiness when she gets out. But her situation is much more complicated than that. In some ways, Joy is bitter that the world moved on without her; her parents got divorced, her friends grew up--all while she was in Room. I really appreciated that the film took such a nuanced approach to this story. Emma Donoghue's story and her screenplay really find the humanity under the concept. This isn't an easy film, with straight answers. Rather, it's detailed look at what tragedy and horror do to people.

The acting all around is pretty terrific. Larson should be a top contender at the Academy Awards, especially if the buzz for the movie stays strong. Child actor Jacob Tremblay is also a brlliant casting choice. His performance is shaded really well, with his voiceover narration providing a sad glimpse into his stunted development. Joan Allen gives another remarkable supporting turn, as a mother who can't quite figure out how to react. I wish William H. Macy had more screentime as Joy's dad; his character could have been developed better. Macy's a terrific actor, but the "Grandpa" character is underwritten.

The real brilliance behind Room is how beautiful it is. I don't mean just visually. The story is gruesome and at times the film is hard to watch. But it never loses its heart or its humanity. Instead of treating Joy and Jack as victim caricatures who are ever so grateful to be free, Room treats their pain and suffering with delicacy, honesty and intelligence. Room is subtle but harrowing. It's such a small movie that it's going to depend on strong word of mouth to break out. Hopefully the film will catch on, despite its grim and disturbing story.

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