Movie Review: Room (2015)

Kidnapping… it’s wrong, don’t fucking do it. I really tried to come up with a clever intro, but I couldn’t. So this is what you get… “Oh hai, Mark”.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Room”.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay) is a young boy being raised by his mom (Brie Larson) in a small shed that he has lived within his entire (albeit short) life. And soon he will get to know a bit more about the world that he has never seen. And from this we get one of the most depressing yet uplifting plots that I have ever experienced in a movie. Really, it is a depressing situation that our main characters are in, but there’s some level of hope throughout the plot which gives this plot a good amount of layers to it. And I think that the plot here is very well told, even though it can be hard to get through.

The characters all have layers to them, and they all feel very real. Brie Larson was absolutely fantastic in the movie, she really gave it her all. The amount of emotions she had to portray in the movie can be difficult for a lot of actors to do convincingly, but she fucking nailed it. Jacob Tremblay… that kid is something special. I have stated a good amount of times how I am skeptical about kids acting in movies, but even I have to admit defeat sometimes. Tremblay was terrific in the movie, he really nailed the whole “Kid who’s known very little and gets introduced to so much more” thing very well. That’s really the best way I could put it. We also get some really good supporting performances through the movie from people like Joan Allen and Sean Bridgers.

The score for the movie was composed by Stephen Rennicks and it was kind of beautiful. It was one of those scores that often loomed in the background to help create a lot of emotion for certain scenes, and I think it worked very well. I also appreciate the inclusion of “The Mighty Rio Grande” by This Will Destroy You (actual band name) in a certain scene. Not only because it’s a song that I already liked, but because it was perfectly placed and actually enhanced the scene quite a bit.

The movie was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and I think that he did a great job. What I found interesting about his direction was his use of lower angles, as if he wanted the camera to be from a child’s point of view. The camera is also rarely perfectly still, there’s a good amount of movement and jitteriness (in lack of a better word) in scenes, as if the camera was a child. I think Abrahamson really wanted to capture the feel of a child’s point of view in this situation, which is something I truly appreciate about it.

This movie has been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 94% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 86/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8,2/10 and is ranked #134 on the “Top 250” list. The movie also won 1 Oscar in the category of Best Actress (Larson). It was also nominated for an additional 3 Oscars in the categories of Best picture, Best director, and Best adapted screenplay.

“Room” is one of the most emotionally draining, but also rewarding, movies I have ever seen. It has a great plot, interesting characters, great performances, great music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Room” is a 9,84/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Room” is now completed.

Yeah… Brie Larson will be great as Captain Marvel.