Future_new_Spielberg
(Personal Opinion and Analysis #1)Room (2015) is a film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, which was worthy of more than a hundred of awards, including the Oscar for Best Actress. It is considered by many critics, analysts, and specialists as a masterpiece, and there are some who uphold that it is one of those films capable to transform a viewer. It is based upon the book which the same name, written by the best-selling author, Emma Donoghue.I knew about this movie for the first time while reviewing the Top Rated Movies of IMDb in order to seek for something new to watch. Its poster caught my attention, especially because a dozen of imposingly favorable and quasi-idolizing comments and critical answers decorated almost its entire upper end. One of them enunciated "A TRIUMPH"; and another one, "SEE IT AND BE TRANSFORMED". I feel a little tempted to say that I had not seen a poster so annoyingly full of "praises" since the release of Chazelle's Whiplash (2014). I immediately added Room to my watchlist, because it was evidently a must-see that I had to watch before death. Shortly later, I found it on Netflix and decided to watch it that night. I had really huge expectations. Expectations that were not exceeded, and it frankly grieves me. Basically, it consists of an approximate two hours dedicated to presenting a carefully elaborated drama, whose script is almost flawlessly adapted to the original book, thanks to the efforts of Emma Donoghue-author of the original story published in 2010. The plot tells a fragment of the early life of a young boy named Jack Newsome, who is merely the product of a cruel rape; and his mom, Joy, who was sexually molested and raped by "Old Nick" and kept as a prisoner in the confines of a small hidden shed located in the yard of his house for almost six years. Joy does her best to keep her only child segregated from the bitter reality that both of them are experiencing, whether through recreational activities or television. Joy, jaded and worn out by the injustice she is living, begins to devise a plan to escape and give Jack a better living condition, for he does not know the reality of the world and lives alone with what he contemplates on television, even fervently denying the existence of a world outside the room.After analyzing for a while, I did discover that Room reminds us that we have a gift. One of those valuable gifts that you can not see physically, though you only realize that you have it until you suddenly lose it: freedom.
I came to this conclusion when I realized that the first half of the film focuses on the intolerable lack of freedom our protagonists are experiencing. The film starts with the interior of the shed, and we cannot look outside; plus, the camera is placed in not too conventional locations in order to capture how cramped the room was actually. Thus, the audience starts to "feel" how notable the lack of freedom was experienced by the characters, and it also leaves it with a surprisingly unexpected sense of fear. This is how the horror is depicted in this movie. Room, in addition, shows an amazing balance between horror and hope. How is this possible? Just take a look at the paragraph I have written above. The premise is, apparently, the flawless plot for a thriller, which would be basically based on a mother and her son's escape plan to seek freedom and fairness. A movie with such plot ends as soon as they are set free. In brief, another "been there, done that" motion picture that only either easy or ignorant audience is capable to enjoy. But that is not what we witness in Room. Although it is easy to feel tension when watching carefully the escape of Joy and her son, the story does not end immediately afterward. Instead, the other half of the film shows us a touching story that reflects the close and unwavering bond between a mother and her child, as well as the devastating long-term effects of violence and justice, valid redundancy. So, Room mutates a low-budget horror movie into a starting point to another story of maternal love and eternal hope. Those directors who manage to fulfill a mission like the one Abrahamson did are worthy of being admired, and that is why he was nominated for the Academy Award. And, so, this is that right sense where this work can be considered a true masterpiece. But now, let us take a look to the left sense: Room is not perfect, for perfection is actually not real, in my opinion. I am especially demanding with the films that belong to Top Rated Movies of IMDb. Room is NOT overrated, yet it is not a flawless film, either. I have some reasons why I did not qualified this work with a 10/10 (which is probably what most of the audience did), but with a 5/10. Joy was not shackled, and Old Nick opened the door of the shed to enter and leave food supplies for Joy and her son every night. It was not under the ground..., for it is a shed, literally. Knocking out Old Nick and then fleeing with his son in his arms is so complicated for a desperate mother? In fact, I would say that the plan developed and used by Joy was even riskier and complicated than the one I propose. (She might even have lost his son in the attempt!) Jack's hair was extremely long, and I know that if Joy had the chance, she would cut it. But, is it so hard to cut a child's hair? Or is it just a reminder that we have got a couple of notably needy characters as protagonists? Whether that is the answer to my question or not, I ought to comment that it is a very bad excuse to have a child with long hair. Or is it that Joy really wanted to have a child with a hair that long? That is hard to believe. Jack used to watch Dora the Explorer when he was living in the shed, and he used to watch it even after the entire odyssey was over. How is it possible that a boy likes a series as degrading and inept as Dora the Explorer? That just does not make sense. Already close to the conclusion, Jack tells us a little about his new life, with a new home, his family and an even more fortified relationship with his mother. It was touching to me, I will not deny it. After about two hours of contemplating a story as beautifully worked as this one, they could feel thanks to Jack's voice that the conclusion was approaching. But my deep feelings towards the scene turned into offense and disgust instantly once I heard a quotation from Jack. "This is a street, in a city, in a country called America (...)". I could not help feeling deeply offended and insulted after hearing this. And I am not afraid to add that no person, whether a best-selling author or not, can be considered a genius or someone worthy of an award with such a level of ignorance. There will always be incompetents who believe that it is wrong to be American, but better not forget that there are even more incompetents who believe that it is sorry not to be American, and that is due to ignorance that many Americans have and are not afraid to exhibit, for now it seems that America is a country and no longer a continent. I think it is only a matter of time before England calls itself Europe; and Japan, Asia. I believe that people who heard what Jack quoted and do not know he is shamefully wrong are ignorants too. Deeply appreciated Mrs. Donoghue, I have something to tell you: America HAS ALWAYS BEEN greater than the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, whether you like it or not.At the end, Joy and her son return to the room for a brief visit. The camera runs through every corner of the room, and it makes me suppose that I, as a viewer, ought to think about that (dull, by the way) scene as a short moment to remember the hell they have been living for so many years; and for a moment I even managed to think that the smile seen on their faces while retreating from the shed was due to having revisited it. Frankly, I do not find the meaning in that scene, because if I were in Joy's shoes, I would definitely sob from just seeing such a horrendous place once again, where happiness, hope, and freedom were nothing but childish fairy tales. In fact, I think I would not even allow Jack to come back to that place. (If Joy had never been kidnapped and raped by Old Nick, the most important thing in her life-Jack, would have never existed, and perhaps that is why she can be seen happy at the end; but the camera, however, focuses on almost every corner of the room which makes me understand that it is not the "events" what she is remembering but the "place"; and that does not seem good to me, for the room was a dark, malodorous pit; it was the rape that allowed her to have Jack). She has her son, safe and sound, and all the memories of her poignant past too. But I think the fact of having revisited that shed was unnecessary.Room is a masterpiece. A flawed masterpiece. And I personally rejoice that this work has not taken the Oscar to the Best Film. In the future, if I see a film that refers to America as a country and is an Oscar winner, I will abandon my dream of being a filmmaker, despite the sores that this will cause to my heart. Mr. Abrahamson finished his "magnificent" letter to Mrs. Donoghue with this: "I love this book, I feel I understand how it works, and I believe I have the skill and sensitivity to do it justice on film." Well, now I understand that Mr. Abrahamson apparently only feels "sensitivity" to people of his nationality because if he really knew what America is, he would not have allowed the movie script to literally declare America to be a country. Abrahamson, although I know that the chances of him reading this review are almost nil, that the United States of America is NOT the only country in America, and perhaps he would have enjoyed his so-valued work if it were not for that insulting phrase J. Tremblay's mouth. Now it turns out that it is a crime not to be "AMERICAN"!? Think about it, those who loved Room.
