Room

Reading a synopsis of the 2015 Academy Award-nominated film Room would lead you to believe at first that this is going to be a psychological thriller. That ends up only being the first half of this film, though. What we are treated to in the second half is a poignant look at the emotional damage and the road to recovery that comes from someone being held captive for many years. After a while, the familiarity of one’s cage can become a comfort, and though they may yearn for freedom, that freedom can be overwhelming, too. Not only that, but what about someone who has never known that freedom before?

When I first saw Room back in 2015 or early 2016, I knew nothing about it. As the story started to unfold and I began to realize what it was actually about, I grew appropriately uncomfortable. I have not known anyone who has gone through anything like this, so I don’t have that trauma in my life, but, like any rational person out there, I felt for the characters. I also knew that it was based on a novel that was inspired by similar real-life crimes, written by Emma Donoghue, who also penned the script. You hear about crimes of this nature, but seeing it play out in front of you is a different beast. It doesn’t take much for a film such as this to resonate emotionally because most of us have loved ones and would be devastated if someone forcibly took them away from us. Killing them outright is one thing because at least you have closure. Not knowing what happened, well…that’s just so much worse. 

The setup is deceptively simple. Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) lives in a cramped 11x11 garden shed with her five-year-old son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay). Mostly, the two are alone, but some nights, Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) shows up, bringing much-needed supplies. He also forces himself on Joy when Jack is supposedly sleeping, though the boy often isn’t. These moments are seen from Jack’s point of view, hiding in a wardrobe, amplifying the tension of the moment. We quickly learn that Joy was kidnapped by Nick seven years ago and that Jack is the product of his repeatedly raping her over the years. Over the course of those seven years, Joy has gotten used to the idea that she may never escape and has raised Jack to believe that life doesn’t exist outside of Room. Their only contact with the outside world, aside from Nick, is a television, which Joy has convinced Jack shows nothing but make-believe. 

But Jack is getting older, and this can only go on for so long before a change needs to happen. One evening, while Nick is staying the night, Jack comes out of the small wardrobe. When Nick awakens and sees him, Joy tries to slap Nick away from him but is easily overpowered. In retaliation, Nick shuts off the heater and power to the shed. This gives her an idea, a desperate plan to get Jack out of the shed where he may be able to get help. I won’t spoil the plan here, but as improbable as it seems to be, it is the plan of a desperate woman, and it does work.

This leads into the second half of the movie where it shifts from life in Room to the road back to a semblance of normalcy. Joy is reunited with her parents, Nancy and Robert (Joan Allen and William H. Macy), who have divorced in the last seven years, and is introduced to Leo (Tom McCamus), the man currently with Nancy. Robert, though, cannot deal with what Jake represents and is quickly out of the picture again while Leo steps up to the plate and shows a great deal of understanding and love for the young boy. Joy, however, is concerned that Jake isn’t taking any interest in real things but would rather play with digital things like his grandmother’s smartphone. To help with raising expenses, Joy agrees to an interview for television but when tough questions come up, it pushes her over the edge and soon afterwards she attempts suicide. 

There are no real answers to how someone can get over such an ordeal, if it is even possible. Being held captive in a small shed like this, raped repeatedly for years, is simply horrific even to think about. Had Jake not come along I get the feeling that Joy would have given up and died years ago. Why Nick never got rid of Jake, left him on the steps of a hospital or orphanage, when he was first born is never really addressed outside of the news reporter asking Joy why she hadn’t tried to get him to do just that. We can only speculate the reasons but there is no doubt in my mind that Jake is the reason she survived all those years in isolation. 

Joy even says as much when Jake gifts her something in the hospital that helps her get well enough to come back home after her suicide attempt. Seeing that he has also started bonding with his grandmother and even another boy in the neighborhood goes a long way towards helping her heal, too, though you never really heal from this kind of thing. 

It’s impressive how little kids can adjust to just about anything thrown their way. The doctor treating the two of them after they are rescued refers to it as being plastic, and that description is pretty apt. It’s also why it was so important for the two of them to escape before he got much older. After all, Nick had to realize that something would have to be done about Jake before too long, anyway. As Jake grows more curious, Nick becomes more dangerous, and thus Joy must find a way to get Jake out of there before it is too late.

This film is dependent on the relationship between Joy and Jake. We simply have to believe in these two to sell the drama. This is hardly Brie Larson’s introduction to the world, yet it seems like this is when her name started to mean something. This is when we started taking more notice of her as a performer. She was still relatively young at this point, which helps sell that this is a young woman who has had the early part of her young adult life taken from her. Brie is simply stunning in this role and would win the Oscar for it. In the years since, though, she has become a target for vitriol after she took on the role of Marvel Studios’ first female starring superhero in Captain Marvel. She has been review-bombed ever since with people claiming she cannot act and is deserving of being cancelled. That is all propaganda, though, as her portrayal here clearly shows. She is great when given the right material.

Jacob Tremblay, however, is on a whole different level. It is no surprise that he has had the career that he has watching this. At no point does it feel like he is acting a part. Instead, everything about him feels natural. This is a talent that few child actors possess. While he had done some guest appearances on television, as well as voice work in The Smurfs 2, this was really our introduction to him. Every time he is on screen, your eyes are drawn to him, and director Lenny Abrahamson seems to know this because he often lets the camera focus on him while other things are happening tangentially around him. There is a scene near the end when he is playing kickball with a neighbor kid that feels like Lenny just told them to play and let the camera roll. Jacob loses a snowboot and hops on one foot over to retrieve it in a manner that would be familiar to all of us who have ever done the same. Jacob Tremblay is a revelation here. I have since seen him in many other projects, and he always stands out, even in films that are not very good. 

This film asks us “What does a parent do when their child outgrows their need for them?” As a parent of a son who has flown the nest and has a life of his own, away from my wife and me, I can relate to this struggle. For five years, Jake has been totally dependent on his mother, but now that the two have escaped Room, he doesn’t need her the way he used to. That dynamic has changed, and it becomes more and more difficult for Joy to pretend that she is content. It also looks at how a cage can feel like a home until you are finally freed of it. The final scene is Jake convincing his mother to take them back to Room for a visit. He marvels at how small it now looks since his world is no longer so confining. But he also no longer feels comfortable with the idea of the door being closed with them inside. He says goodbye to Room and, after a brief hesitation, Joy silently mouths the same. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Ed Guiney

Best Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Best Actress: Brie Larson (won)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Emma Donoghue

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Release Date: October 16, 2015

Running Time: 118 minutes

Rated R

Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers, and William H. Macy

Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson