Films about abduction usually end with the rescue.
Room (2015) doesn't let viewers off the hook so easily. I caught up to it last night courtesy of Netflix. The first half is devoted to the horror a young woman, taken in her teens, has been suffering for eight years, living in a shed. Her salvation is the child she has borne with the indifferent rapist. He has turned five. She devises a scheme that sets them free. The second half of the movie concerns adjustment to the real world, and it's not pretty. Brie Larson won an Oscar for her performance. She captures the psychological components of the character brilliantly. I was completely unfamiliar with her previous work and was amused to find she got her start doing sketches on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Also a singer, she has piled up a total of 53 credits. The creep is ably played by screen veteran Sean Bridges (63 credits). Joan Allen brings her considerable talents to the role of grandma. The great William H. Macy appears briefly as the grandpa, now living in another city after divorce. In the film's most jarring scene, he is unable to look at his grandson. What makes it powerful is that it is an entirely plausible reaction, no matter how wrong. Of course, fare like this cannot be successful without an appealing child at its center, and Jason Tremblay tugs at the heart strings. Only 10, he already has 16 screen credits. Lenny Abrahamson, an Irishman, received a nomination for Best Director, as did screenwriter Emma Donoghue, who adapted from her own novel.
Room was also nominated for Best Picture. 140,000+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 8.3 of ten. I can't argue with that. It is rare that so serious and downbeat a film is successful at the box office, but it brought in $14+ million on a budget of six million. Anyone who prefers typical Hollywood slam-bang fare should pass. This film smacks of authenticity, of the nightmare such a situation must be even when it turns out as well as one dare hope. Kudos to cast and crew.
Yesterday I neglected to mention that Mark, a Vietnam vet/retired postal worker, recently received a speeding ticket. He was on his way home from his volunteer Little League work when he committed the high crime of going 23 mph in a school zone. The limit is 20. He was caught by one of those income-generating Big Brother type cameras.
I'm off to south Jersey for my great niece/godchild's high school graduation party.
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
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