DVD REVIEW: Room

DVD REVIEW: Room (15)

Starring: Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay.

Out on Monday, May 16

ROOM is one of those wonderful films that stays with you long after you watch it.

Given the grim premise — a young mum locked up for several years after being captured focuses on nurturing and protecting the son she has born to her abductor — you might think it’s a story one would want to forget.

That this gripping thriller inspires only positive reflection is down to the flawless direction of Lenny Abrahamson and a pair of outstanding performances by Brie Larson as Ma and nine-year-old Jacob Tremblay as five-year-old Jack.

Thanks to clever camera work which involves shooting the same space from numerous angles and artificially extended distances as seen through the eyes of a child, the truly tiny dimensions of the pair’s adhoc prison is disguised.

And while there always remains an air of background menace thanks to the control of the abductor Ma and Jack call Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), Ma’s efforts to always make the best of their lot and shield Jack from the grimness of reality ensure they share moving moments of tenderness, humour and even joy.

Born and raised within the small shed, Jack’s only knowledge is of the items around him. 

Inanimate objects are one of a kind and as such given proper names — Bed, Wardrobe, Table, etc — and other people and animals (aside from Ma and Old Nick) exist for the little boy only in the two-dimensional form they take on the cell’s TV.

Ma and Jack’s mother-son relationship is recognisable, but their arduous circumstances anything but, which pushes Ma to hatch an escape plot raising hopes of an even more terrifying prospect — facing up to life in the outside world.

Abrahamson has drawn an excellent performance from Tremblay, whose Jack displays innocent happiness, confusion and outburst of anger and clearly has a close bond with his mother.

But the stand-out here is Larson, in an unforgettable turn as Ma, balancing barely-contained contempt for the abductor who she loathes and depends on with the love for Jack which enables her to endure their ordeal.

Room is claustrophobic and harrowing but also inspiring and uplifting, a reminder than even in the bleakest predicament there can still be light and hope.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to sit down and go through it all again, but you’ll probably want to get out in the daylight for a while first.