118 min
8
2015
Canada
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.
Overview
Reviews
Reno wrote:> Discovering a whole new world beyond the 4 walls.
We all know the German folk tale 'Rupanzel', and this is a similar kind with entirely different motive. All the above it is not a fairy tale set in the medieval period, but inspired by many real events of the present era. A couple of years ago I saw a German movie called '3096 Days' based on the true story. When I heard of this movie is being made, at first obviously I remembered that title, but after seeing the poster alone convinced me not the same. Automatically the expectations rose, and now it's got the 4 Oscars nominees, including the best motion picture.
The both halves of the movie were entirely different from each other like the two sets of story, but the core of the theme remains same. The first half was a crucial part that takes place completely in a single room with a minimal cast. It does not go through the intro, just begins to tell the story like it's already happening and you might take a few minutes to realise the state of condition. The next half is a reaction to what happened in the previous. And again this is also an important storytelling section because like the title, it was not all about the room, but beyond that 4 walls and its roof and floor like how it affected the mother and son.
> "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
The movie does not talk about the crime feature at all. Not even considered to reveal behind the motive. So the other side mystery remains as it is. The whole narration was one sided, everything was seen through the eyes of a five year old boy. He begins with the line 'Once upon a time...' like a fairy tale, because it is to him and with his cute little performance along with Brie Larson's, the movie briefs their struggle for freedom.
It was a too casual opening, like nothing bad is really happening, just they're weird people or maybe agoraphobia, except they're not. You know when we say we love to be kids again to escape this complicated adult life, sometimes we won't mean it except it was a normal reaction to the situation we're in. But what if a five year old boy wants to be four again when her mother thinks its time to him know what the real world looks like. Yeah, that's a too much to take in for a young boy, but that's the best chance they had to break free from the psycho who put her mother in that room.
> "When I was small, I only knew small things.
> But now I'm five, I know everything."
It was a tidy place, but the camera angles were impressive. I know it was shot in a studio with a wide open space behind the camera, but that does not the viewpoint in the actual story. When the first half ends, it is an indication of the good parts are over, at least that's what I thought of, but what came after was the unexpected expansion in narration. Usually most of the similar tales end in that part itself like for example 'Prisoners' and the rest is understandable stuff that won't be shown.
When a tale had a ending like 'happily ever after', still some people desire for it to continue a few more minutes to know how happy really they are and that's what this film's second half. Remember, most of the similar themes have multiple perspectives, like how victim's family is coping with, cops are pursuing the suspect, abductor's plans and motive, and captives struggle. Like I said it was all about what a mother and her son goes through those years in captivity and after that.
There were some suspicious characters and events like I had a bad feeling over the doctor's soft talking, also the mother-son's master plan when in captive. Those are tiny diversions to viewers assume differently against where the story is heading. It is all about the mother and son's mental trauma, especially for the little boy similar to when Tarzan is in a big town for the first time leaving behind his other life. It was a perfect pace as well, neither hurried nor a slow development. The movie was a big break for many, especially for the Irish director, and Brie Larson and of course for the kid. Definitely one of the finest movie of 2015 and a must watch.
9/10
Horseface wrote:"I want a different story!"
That line and the scene it's taken from is quintessential to what this movie is about — at least to me.
To me, this is so much **not** about being abducted and trapped in a room but about the apparent pointlessness of being, about coming to terms with it and understanding and accepting that any meaning that is to be found, comes from within ourselves. It's also about moving on, about love and parenthood ("Can I?" "There's nothing left."), and just... Well, humanity and love.
It reminds me of the beautiful relationship between father and son in The Road (the book — I don't remember if the movie conveys this relationship very well, but I do remember the beauty of it in the book). The relationship between mother and son in this movie is heartbreakingly beautiful as well.
Also, I don't remember the last time I've seen a child perform this well in a movie. I have a feeling I've seen better, but I can't remember having seen better.
I thought this would be a horror movie (I don't read synopsises or reviews or watch trailers before watching a movie), instead I was moved to tears again and again. But **not** disappointed.
Brilliant. Watch it.
CinemaSerf wrote:Jacob Tremblay is really good in this curious, and slightly claustrophobic, tale of a young lad "Jack" who lives with his doting "Ma" (Brie Larson). Nothing odd about that, you might think - well, except for the fact that thus far in his short life, "Jack" has never actually left the room in which he lives. He eats there, plays there, sleeps there - he knows nowhere else. As he ages though, he begins to get itchy feet and his mother finds it more and more difficult to contain his enthusiasm for finding out what is going on outside. What also emerges from their scenario is that "Ma" herself is not exactly free to move about. She was taken by "Nick" (Sean Bridgers) many years earlier and it soon becomes clear that he is likely the father of the boy she is so desperate to protect. Are they better off indoors or seeking freedom? Well, she decides that the latter offers them a better chance of happiness (and quite possibly sanity, too) - but the execution of that plan is not without risk! Lenny Abrahamson directs this with quite a bit of subtlety. He allows the audience to become immersed in the relationship between the two principals; he lets them do the talking and as the narrative unravels we realise that the story is anything but what we may have expected at the start. There is a palpable chemistry between the confident Tremblay and his more experienced co-star, and she complements that well. This is a nuanced and engaging tale offering us plenty of parallels of modern life - good and bad; with a dialogue that is both poignant and frequently heartfelt too. Certainly, it was nothing at all like I was expecting and it's stimulating and enjoyable in equal measure. Well worth a watch.
