Analyzing Brie Larson's Play 'Room'

Brie Larson, who already had impressed me in “Short Term 12”, gives a spectacular performance, together with the young Jacob Tremblay, in the suspenseful drama “Room”, directed by Lenny Abrahamson (“Frank”) from a screenplay by Emma Donoghue based on her own 2010 international best-seller novel of the same name. The story follows a protective, caring mother, Joy (Larson), and her sensitive five-year-old son, Jack (Tremblay), whose lives are limited to a small space that they call room. The room is actually a shed, placed in a desolated backyard and well protected with a code lock system, which is owned by a man known as Red Nick who seven years before had abducted Joy, confining her to a life of forced imprisonment. So, it’s easy to conclude that Jack is …show more content…
Now that Jack, whose long hair made me easily mistaken him as a girl, turned 5, Joy decided to tell him the truth, which naturally provokes confusion and apprehension. In addition, she engenders a risky plan to set Jack free and ask for help. The plan is consummated, however, the outside world is not the paradise she thought it would be, starting with the refusal of her own father in accepting Jack as his genuine grandson. A terrible depression takes care of this psychologically affected woman who does the best she can to hold onto life. For the film’s benefit, the mother/son relationship is depicted in a very strong way, a fundamental aspect that Abrahamson assures to extract from the performances, which are unquestionably Oscar-worthy. “Room” is an honest portrait of a terrible, abusive case, probably inspired on a few real cases that recently have been disclosed by the media. Infused with confidence and narrative tightness, the film is not only gripping but also touching, and after its two hours (time flies here, which is a good sign), it will leave you meditating on the