Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers:

Eric Roth (screenplay), Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Thomas Schell
Thomas Horn	...	Oskar Schell
Sandra Bullock	...	Linda Schell
Zoe Caldwell	...	Oskar's Grandmother
Dennis Hearn	...	Minister
Paul Klementowicz	...	Homeless Man
Julian Tepper	...	Deli Waiter
Caleb Reynolds	...	Schoolboy
John Goodman	...	Stan the Doorman
Max von Sydow	...	The Renter
Stephen Henderson	...	Walt the Locksmith (as Stephen McKinley Henderson)
Lorna Pruce	...	Locksmith Customer (as Lorna Guity Pruce)
Viola Davis	...	Abby Black
Jeffrey Wright	...	William Black
Hazelle Goodman	...	Hazelle Black

Storyline

A troubled young boy, Oskar, is trying to cope with the loss of his father. Oskar starts lashing out at his mother and the world. Until a year later, he discovers a mysterious key in his father's belongings and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock, just as he used to when his father was alive. On this journey he is bound to meet a lot of people and learn a lot about himself and his family, but will he ever find the lock?

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Plot Keywords:

lock | key | new york city | september 11 2001 | nine year old | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tan fuerte y tan cerca

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$110,775 (USA) (30 December 2011)

Gross:

$31,836,745 (USA) (23 March 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second film related to the September 11 terrorist attacks to be nominated for an Oscar. The first was United 93. Both films were nominated for two Academy Awards and neither film won one. World Trade Center was not Oscar nominated, neither were September 11 or the more loosely related 25th Hour.

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Goofs

When Oskar and his mother are recounting the people Oskar visited, after they discuss Leigh-Anne Black, both clearly refer to "Lona Black" (at 01:49:58 and 01:50:02) as she is shown in flashbacks and the subtitles show both saying Lona Black as well, but the end credits (in order of appearance) list Mona Black after Leigh-Anne Black and do not list Lona Black. Since no one named Mona Black is mentioned in the film, it is an error in the end credits.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Oskar Schell: There are more people alive now than have died in all of human history, but the number of dead people is increasing. One day, there isn't going to be any room to bury anyone anymore. So, what about skyscrapers for dead people, that are built down. They could be underneath the skyscrapers for living people, that are built up. We could bury people 100 floors down. And a whole dead world could be underneath the living one.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.31 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"If You Know The Lord Is Keeping You"
Performed by Charles Taylor

User Reviews

Mixed Feelings About This Movie

This movie is a difficult one to review. At times during the film, you are thinking it's terrible, other times, it's touching, at others, inspiring. There is so much tragedy here and so much that is hopeful. I will say this, when the movie closed and the lights came up, I just sat there, thinking about things I'd seen, things I still wondered about, scenes that were perfect and those that weren't, questions that were answered and those not quite enough. Over all, I'd say I'm glad I watched this one. I can't say it's one I'm going to want to buy. It was interesting that of the four of us who went together to see this picture, all had different parts that affected us the most. For many of us, bringing ourselves to watch anything that had to do with 9/11 is still too painful to really be excited about. It's still too freshly seared into our minds. Maybe always will be. This one, at least, didn't slam the viewer over the head with too many visual details….there were as many as had to be, to present the movie. I think this is one you should see if only to decide for yourself what feelings you are left with. Excellent casting by the way.