Room

Movie, 2015, R

Premise - When a 17-year-old girl agrees to help a stranger with his sick dog, the man captures her as his slave and locks her in a tiny garden shed, where he regularly rapes her. Seven years later, she has given birth to a child who is now turning five years old. She teaches her son about the world and has him help her with a plan to escape.

Review - This is not the film I was expecting to see. This proves how limited my knowledge was, but I only knew the film was about a woman and her kid trapped in a room by a sexual abuser, and I remember when Brie Larson won her Oscar (and I love Brie Larson). I never saw any trailers. I am very glad that I went into this film as blind as I did, because if I saw any trailers it would have spoiled the main plot point - SPOILER ALERT - halfway through the film, they escape.

Therefore, only half of the movie is about a mother and son being trapped in a tiny room. The other half is about the journey through recovery, as Jack explores the world for the first time and Joy has to reconcile the time of her life that she had essentially lost. As satisfying as the moment is when Jack and Joy make their escape, the rest of the film shows that there was still much of an emotional journey ahead of them. Joy deals with suicidal thoughts, and Jack misses the comfort of the only room he had ever known.

The film as far less gratuitous than I expected as well. I think that is largely because much of the film is from Jack's perspective, a child who does not understand the details of what's happened to him. The words "rape" or "rapist" are never mentioned, and only once does the film make reference to the fact that the rapist is of course Jack's biological father, though Joy immediately shuts this down and declares that this does not constitute a relationship between them.

I found the film to be incredibly moving, at least enough to make me cry not once, but multiple times. As a young female, Joy's situation evoked far too much of a "this could have easily happened to me" sensation. And then of course, who wouldn't be moved by little Jack. I think all humans have a curiosity about other humans who are raised in peculiar conditions and how that affects their growth and development, but I in particular have a profound interest in the subject. The doctor points out that Jack is still malleable, and will likely be able to develop normally. Therefore, despite going through a more dramatic change and initially shows much deeper signs of trauma, he actually emotionally recovers faster than Joy does.

I also praise the film for music, cinematography (I imagine it would be difficult to keep the film interesting when confined to such a tiny space, but they pulled it off well!), and acting. Brie Larson deserved that Oscar, and the kid who played Jack displayed an immense amount of young talent and emotional depth. (86/100)

Quote - "When I was four, I didn't even know about the world, and now me and ma are going to live in it forever and ever until we're dead. This is a street in a city in a country called America, and earth. That's a blue and green planet, always spinning, so I don't know why we don't fall off. Then, there's outer space. And nobody knows where's heaven. Ma and I have decided that because we don't know what we like, we get to try everything. There are so many things out here. And sometimes, it's scary, but that's okay, because it's still just you and me."

What to watch for - The scene in particular that stands out to me is when Jack sees the sky for the first time. The shot of his face with a mixture of wonder and fear... it's just so profoundly moving.

If you liked this movie, I recommend trying the book, because I might! Also, The Perks of Being a Wallflower!

Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson
Distributed by A24