ROOM

The story of "Room" becomes increasingly unsettling the more one thinks about the fact that things like this have actually happened to people. On its broadest scale, the film is a story of juvenile kidnap, rape, and endless abuse; subjects which could easily yield a nightmare of a film. Miraculously however, the affecting performances and touching relationship at the heart of "Room" overshadow the elements of brutality and deliver a film which is moving and often heartwarming.

Brie Larson plays the role of Joy (or Ma, depending on who you ask), a young woman who was captured during her teens and, for years, has been held captive. Jack, the son born to Joy several years into her agony as a sexual slave, is raised knowing nothing of life outside the confines of the small shed inhabited by the characters. To Jack, what lies beyond the walls of the small room shared by he and his mother is known as "outer space", and things like animals and regular fixtures of comfort in our daily lives only exist in the fantastical world of television. Though what she and her son face are nothing short of horrific, Joy places Jack at the center of her existence, and does an honorable job of maintaining hope and providing her son with the closest thing to a normal life that she can manage.

The effectiveness of Larson's lead performance is no secret, as it earned her plenty of high profile awards and critical praise. She succeeds in bringing the subtle suffering and reflective depth that is pivotal to her tortured character. Amongst her most powerful moments in the film are the sudden cathartic episodes which her character experiences when her son is not around. As the collected façade falls, Joy allows herself to display the anguish which we expect from someone in her situation, and Larson delivers in these moments. The role of Jack also turned young Jacob Tremblay into the darling of the 2016 movie awards season. Any time a film as intense as this one relies so heavily on the skill of a child actor, moviegoers and filmmakers alike do not know what to expect, but Tremblay's combination of cheerful naivety and subdued emotion acts as a light of innocence at the heart of the film.

This movie does something very well which is impetrative to great films: it makes you care deeply about its characters. The scene in which Jack attempts his escape from the back of his captors pickup truck brought me stronger feelings of suspense than any horror film or thriller which I have seen recently. This is achieved by building a deep connection between the young boy and the audience as we have see the struggle involved in his childhood, recognize his opportunity to be free, and ask ourselves what will happen if he fails. Jack and Joy's escape from their confinement is the riveting turning point of the film, but this moment and the events that follow it would not matter nearly as much if viewers had not witnessed the meticulously displayed struggle at the opening of the film. Even as the characters attempt to assimilate with the largely unfamiliar outside world, they often rely on each other to maintain healthy spirits. It's the everyday moments shown between the protagonists which are the most poignant and memorable.

The fictional story of "Room", based on a novel by author and screenwriter Emma Donoghue, is almost eerily prophetic of the Ariel Castro kidnapping case of 2013. These events saw the discovery and escape of three young women, one with a child born in captivity, who were held in very similar circumstances to that of Joy. As I stated earlier, approaching this film with the knowledge that sickening things like these really happen in our world brings a powerful emotional rise out of viewers. But for all the cruelty which surrounds the story of Jack and Joy, this is, above all, an inspiring story about the power of love, the strength of companionship, and the importance of mothers. "Room" is one of the best movies of the decade so far, and it possesses the power to stimulate emotions as strongly as a film can.

RATING:  8.6/10