Julia Karsteter
Contributing Writer
There’s something to be said about a movie that manages to captivate and enrapture while still remaining in one room for the majority of it. The aptly named Oscar-awarded movie “Room” does exactly that.
“Room” is the tale of a woman and her young son who live in captivity, kept in a shed in the backyard of their captor for seven years, five years for Jack who was born inside of it. The movie, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, doesn’t stray far from the book written by Emma Donoghue.
The story is told from the perspective of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who is kept with his Ma, Joy Newsome (Brie Larson). As the narrator, Jack doesn’t get to see all the sordid details that occur beyond the closet Ma has him sleep in every night, but we get to hear it; the abuse and rape that Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) inflicts on Ma nightly. The movie brings to light some of the tales that are heard every so often of women escaping the backyards or basements of the horrible men who kept them there.
In a heartbreaking scene, Ma tells Jack of how she was kidnapped.
“Old Nick. We call him Old Nick, I don’t know what his real name is, but he pretended his dog was sick,” Ma said.
“What’s the dog’s name?” Jack said.
“Jack, there wasn’t a dog! He was trying to trick me, okay? There wasn’t a dog. Old Nick stole me,” Ma said.
“I want a different story!” Jack said.
“No! This is the story that you get!” Ma said.
The movie, while staying true to the book, brings an occasionally more somber tone to the watered-down tale. The book, being described by Jack, manages to hide some of the more depressing moments with childish language. When viewing it as someone older than a child, it’s easier to tell how horrible the tale really is.
The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, for Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress, taking the fourth home in the hands of lead actress Brie Larson.
“Room” is rated R, to accommodate for the occasional dark scenes, and runs for one hour and 48 minutes. The studio that produced the movie was Element Pictures.
