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 #153 | 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:

Survive is only the beginning

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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

While director Lenny Abrahamson was looking for an actress to play "Ma," an associate suggested that he see Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (2013). He was instantly impressed with Larson's ability to inhabit her character so completely and unpretentiously. This was precisely what he sought for his film.

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Goofs

When Nancy and Jack get out of the car from grocery shopping, between cuts her purse changes back and forth from being held over her shoulder, to in her hand a few times.

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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 Late Night with Seth Meyers: Tina Fey/John Stamos/Jay Pharoah/Patrick Carney (2016)

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Soundtracks

Bag Fight
Written by Klaus Badelt and Andrew Raiher
Performed by Klaus Badelt, Daniel Rojas and Andrew Raiher
Published by KB Publishing and A Olympus Pictures
Courtesy of Wunderhorn Music, Inc.

User Reviews

A tense and compelling film

Lenny Abrahamson's Room opens in a 10 x 10 room that has no windows, a locked door, and no light other than that provided by an overhead skylight. Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a slight five-year old boy with hair down to his shoulders wakes up each morning as he has all his life, saying hello to his world. He says hello, not to the sun or the grass outside his front door where he can run and laugh and play but only to the objects which is all his world consists of: the lamp, the sink, the plant, the refrigerator. His only friend is a mouse that he feeds with some pleasure.

Not that he lacks for companionship. Ma (Brie Larson) is with him and their endless days consist of cooking, reading, and watching TV where Jack is told that what he sees on the screen is not real, only pretend. All he knows of the world is what he sees in front of his eyes. Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) brings food and other household items but when he comes, Jack has to hide in his wardrobe, out of sight. Ma, we find out, has been kept prisoner and used for sex by the hulking man who comes every night and we know that Jack is a result of his mother's rape. Jack is the focus of the film and we see everything from his point of view, with the help of his sometime narration but we can also get into his mother's mind and feel her pain and live her dreams.

There is never any doubt of his mother's love though the obvious strain of keeping herself from crying out every minute is painfully obvious. To Jack, she is the center of his world and his reason for being. When the second half of the film takes a surprising turn and shifts 180 degrees, Jack and Ma are not prepared for what awaits them. Even when an alternative is suggested as possible, he doesn't want to hear anything about a different world with blue sky and rivers and trees. Room is a tense and compelling film in which Brie Larson more than fulfills the brilliance that she showed in Short Term 12 and should make her an Oscar contender. Tremblay is also superb.

He lives his character and makes him come alive, even though he is only nine years old. Supporting roles by Joan Allen and William H. Macy also contribute to the film's second half but it is always Larson and Tremblay that carry the day. The film is not mawkish or sentimental even though the soaring score by Stephen Rennicks comes close. While there are has some plot implausibilities, the film is a tribute to the resiliency and the dedicated love of a parent for their child. It is also a teaching experience. Like many who are walled off from each other and think the box they are in is all there is, the film can give us the combination to open the locked door, if we take the risk to turn the key.