Movie Review: 'room'

Upon finishing Emma Donoghue’s gripping novel Room five years ago, more than a few readers probably mumbled to themselves, “I don’t know how that would ever be made into a movie.” Narrated exclusively from the point of view of 5-year-old Jack, Room traffics in singularly unpleasant subject matter, but, incredibly, finds hope in the most dire circumstances. Without giving away too much of Donoghue’s spare, bleak plot, Room unfolds as the tale of Ma and Jack, trapped in a one-room shed by a captor who stole Ma off the street seven years before. Their day-to-day existence is fraught with dread, but also the whimsy of a child discovering the world through Ma’s fantastical explanations of their surroundings. It’s tricky stuff all the way around, but the cinematic version of Room, adapted for the screen by Donoghue and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, manages the impressive feat of translating this singular novel to film and sacrificing none of its peculiar power and tough beauty. Room is helped immeasurably by its two lead actors, Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. As Ma, Larson is forced through tortuous emotional and psychological experiences, while Tremblay is charged with handling a complex role, a child driven by circumstance to be both wise beyond his years but also alive to the wonder of a world he doesn’t fully understand. Together, they form a powerfully affecting family unit, and one that carries viewers through some of Room’s uglier moments — the cinematic version doesn’t become quite as harrowing as the novel, but Donoghue’s adaptation doesn’t spare viewers either — and gives the film a potent dose of pathos as the tale draws to a close. Effectively a duet between Tremblay and Larson, Room also benefits from strong supporting work, courtesy Joan Allen, William H.