Room (2015)

Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.

Director:

Lenny Abrahamson

Writers:

Emma Donoghue (screenplay by), Emma Donoghue (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers

Top Rated Movies #152 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 104 wins & 139 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brie Larson	...	Ma
Jacob Tremblay	...	Jack
Sean Bridgers	...	Old Nick
Wendy Crewson	...	Talk Show Hostess
Sandy McMaster	...	Veteran
Matt Gordon	...	Doug
Amanda Brugel	...	Officer Parker
Joe Pingue	...	Officer Grabowski
Joan Allen	...	Nancy
Zarrin Darnell-Martin	...	Attending Doctor
Cas Anvar	...	Dr. Mittal
William H. Macy	...	Robert
Jee-Yun Lee	...	News Anchor
Randal Edwards	...	Lawyer
Justin Mader	...	FBI Agent

Storyline

ROOM tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted mother. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical--they are trapped--confined to a 10-by-10-foot space that Ma has euphemistically named Room. Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within Room, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack's curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma's resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | kidnapping | mother son relationship | imprisonment | unlawful confinement | 

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Taglines:

Love knows no boundaries

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Ireland Canada UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Room

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,335,563, 16 October 2015, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,677,674

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$36,262,783

Company Credits

Production Co:

Element Pictures, Film 4, FilmNation Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though many remember the case of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Georgina DeJesus, the story portrayed in Room shares much more similarities with the Fritzl case, which emerged in April 2008. Elisabeth Fritzl was kidnapped, assaulted and repeatedly raped by her father, Josef Fritzl, who held her captive for for 24 years, which resulted in seven children; three of them remained in captivity with their mother. Elisabeth was tricked into the bunker by her father, like Ma was tricked by Old Nick into the shed; The bunker built to keep Elisabeth in shares similarities with the shed seen in Room; the story told by Ma to Jack in order to explain the "world" they're in resembles what Elisabeth told her children; Josef used to shut off their lights or refuse to deliver food for days at a time to punish them; Elisabeth also had her means of escape created by her son's medical conditions - one of her children had to be hospitalised with kidney failure; she and the children needed extra care for their sensitivity to light and germ exposition. It's possible some aspects of the Fritzl case served as inspiration for the book, released in 2010, 2 years after the case made the news.

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Goofs

When they last visit the room, the door seems half open from inside. Ma even asks Jack if he wants it closed. When they exit, the door is obviously out of position, as the police must have broken it open.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ma: Ssh. Go back to sleep.
Jack: [reciting to himself] Once upon a time, before I came, you cried and cried and watched TV all day, until you were a zombie. But then I zoomed down from heaven, through skylight, into Room. Whoosh-pshew! And I was kicking you from the inside. Boom, boom! And then I shot out onto Rug with my eyes wide open, and you cutt-ed the cord and said, "Hello, Jack!"

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Crazy Credits

In the "Special Thanks to" part of the credit, there's the name of Jack White, the guitarist and vocalist of the band The White Stripes, a poster of which can be seen in a scene in Joy's bedroom.

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Connections

Referenced in 75th Golden Globe Awards (2018)

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Soundtracks

The Mighty Rio Grande
Written by Jeremy Adam Galindo, Christopher Royal King, Raymond Joseph Brown, and Andrew Thomas Miller
Performed by This Will Destroy You
Courtesy of Magic Bullet Records
By arrangement with Dark Operative Publishing

User Reviews

Imagine yourself as a 5 year old child discovering for the first time a brand new world exists outside of your room

SPOILER: At the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival the film "ROOM" won the People's Choice Award today. It tells a story of a young woman and her five year old son who have been held in captivity in a confined and windowless living space for six years. Brie Larson stars as Ma and her son named Jack is played by Jacob Tremblay who is so believable that you will feel empathetic towards their captivity but relief as to how Ma convinces Jack that their little world is real and is wonderful.

As Jack grows he starts to ask questions about their isolated lifestyle and we the audience anticipate that Ma must try and escape with young Jack but how?

The story draws similarities to the actual events that were Jaycee Lee Dugard's true life story which occurred on June 10, 1991, in South Lake Tahoe, California. Dugard was 11 years old at the time she was abducted from a street while she was walking from home to a school bus stop and she was held captive for the next 18 years in a concealed back yard in a make shift shed. There is also some resemblance to the kidnapping of Amanda Berry who had a child fathered by her kidnapper Ariel Castro. This film was titled Cleveland Abduction and it was released in 2015. It tells the true story of three girls who were held captive for over 10 years by Ariel Castro in his home with no one aware how close the girls were to their own homes and families.

The film Room focuses more on Jack and Ma's awkward adjustment to life outside of their room which was their entire world for the past six years. There is a strong supporting cast including performances such as Joan Allen's role as Jack's loving Grandma and the ever convincing all-star William H Macy as a resistant Grandpa who is having difficulty accepting that his daughter is raising her rapist's son.

There are some scenes that are so heartwarming that it will be difficult not to find yourself becoming emotionally involved. In one particular very touching and loving scene, Jack asks his Grandma to cut his long hair so that the strength that he thinks that his shoulder length hair possesses can be transferred over to his sick Ma so she can return home from the hospital. Jack who understandably is initially withdrawn from anyone other than his Ma simply tells his Grandma after she washes and cuts his hair that he loves her. This loving scene between Jack and his Grandma will stay with me forever.

Jack and Ma's is a story of isolation, fear, hopelessness versus hope and most importantly a film about redemption and the family bond. Room is deserving of an Oscar nomination for best picture and nominations in a few other categories as well such as best actress, best actor and best director. I give the film a 9.5 out of 10 rating. This film is terrific!!