'Room' A Review

Room is a drama about a woman being held captive in a shed with her five year old son, based on the novel of the same name. Joy(Brie Larson) has been a prisoner for seven years, she's raised her son Jack(Jacob Tremblay) to believe that the garden shed they are trapped in- Room- is the only thing that exists. The film opens with Jack's fifth birthday and establishes Joy and Jack's routine in their cramped quarters. After Old Nick(Sean Bridgers) Joy's captor, violator, and Jack's father confesses he's lost his job Joy takes a high stakes gamble on Jack's freedom. After Joy and Jack escape they struggle with acclimating to the real world.

Larson puts in a mutli-faceted, incredibly emotional, and compelling performance. Strong but vulnerable, resilient yet real. Tremblay gives a masterful portrayal that defies his age. Naive, innocent, yet not without some of the darkness and anxiety the situation would inevitability impart. He is also periodically, age appropriately, petulant and irrational but not to an insufferable degree, it serves to clarify and augment his singular relationship with his mother. The film is as much Larson's film as it is Tremblay's, although Jack's affected narration serve to propel the narrative. Joy has a substantially more difficult time adjusting to life after Room than does Jack mostly because of how hard she's strived to protect him. Their chemistry is magnetic, their emotional journeys compelling, their ultimate transformations cathartic.

The only misstep in Room is the inappropriate score. Mostly sappy cliched music undermines powerful scenes which degrade their impact. The rich performances and evocative cinematography don't need the bizarrely heavy handed orchestration. It is an occasional distraction which doesn't, ultimately, significantly detract.

Tough without being brutal, inspiring without being precious.

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