All alone together

Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson star in "Room." Image courtesy A24.

The superb “Room” is one of those films that wears down viewers emotionally, although it isn't because the film is a proverbial roller coaster that drags audiences through the peaks and valleys. Rather, almost everything in “Room” is coated with despair and dread rooted in the reality its two protagonists live in and the fantasy they created to survive their life. All of that pain is lightened slightly by the film's decision to play the film through the eyes of a 5-year-old boy, who can see the pain around him but can't quite process what it actually means. It doesn't make the experience of watching “Room” any less exhausting, but it does add a hint of wonderment to the proceedings, one in which the fear of the great wide world is contrasted by a childlike curiosity and innocence and, most importantly, love.

The heart of “Room” is the aforementioned 5-year-old boy, Jack (played by Jacob Tremblay), who lives in the titular Room with his Ma (an excellent Brie Larson). Their existence is pretty simple, encompassing some TV time, stories, minor exercises, the occasional birthday celebration, and evening visitations by the mysterious Old Nick (Sean Bridgers). Even though there isn't much to do, Tremblay still seems to enjoy his little life, saying goodnight to all of the inanimate objects around him a la “Goodnight Moon” and losing himself to old episodes of “Dora the Explorer” on a static-filled TV.

His life comes crumbling down once Larson reveals the world extends far beyond the walls of Room. She was kidnapped by Old Nick after track practice when she was 17, and has spent the better part of a decade trapped in a small shack in Ohio. She tells her son they must escape Room as soon as possible, and Larson hatches an escape plan for her son that forces him to see what exists beyond his world for the first time. It's a scary proposition for the young man, but he pulls off the escape and is reunited with his mother shortly thereafter. The mother and son eventually go to live with Larson's mom (a wicked good Joan Allen) and her new husband (Tom McCamus) as they reintegrate and integrate, respectively, into society.

“Room” is, in essence, a retelling of Plato's “Allegory of the Cave,” in which a person accepts the reality around him even if there is something potentially larger and greater beyond the shadows dancing on the wall of the cave. Using a 5-year-old as the means of telling that story in a modern setting is a pretty clever little twist; a child is much likelier to believe that Room is the only thing that exists beyond possibly the heavens than an adult. It's a story the mother tells to assuage her son's curiosity, and one the child is willing to receive because he doesn't need any further proof or justification.

The lie, along with the stories Larson tells to sell the lie, is a necessary evil, albeit an evil that hurts Larson every time she recites it. It's unbelievable how much misery she must be in (a sadness Larson’s performance hints at without revealing fully); being trapped in Room every day next to a child she loves intensely yet is a reminder of the childhood she effectively lost to Old Nick has to be pure torture. The tragedy only increases once she leaves and finds it impossible to adjust to life outside Room with any sense of ease; the world moved on without her over the last seven years, as evidenced by the posters of bands like The White Stripes still filling her bedroom wall. A parent can do his or her best to hide that pain, but even a child can pick up on inklings of his or her parent's sadness, and that sadness permeates throughout the film. That gloom comes from both the dreams Larson has of leaving Room and the realities she and her son face after doing so, with the happy and easy ending she imagined spoiled by mounting bills and interlopers who have little understanding of her trauma.

Yet So much of “Room” is coated in misery the joyous moments with few or no strings attached are even brighter. Every moment of Larson doting on Tremblay is a joy – the son devoted to his mother, the mother finding solace in the one good thing that came from her torture – as is a particular moment late in the film in which Tremblay plays with a dog for the first time. That moment (which is brilliant and totally unfair for people who don't want to cry) reinforces “Room's” main thesis; even amid the greys and blacks presented by life, there's always space for unbridled joy.

Rating: Four and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 118 minutes

Genre: Drama

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Target audience: Anyone who read the book “Room” and people who have difficulty deciphering happiness from tragedy.

Take the whole family?: Technically the “R” rating is undeserved based on the content of the film, but the vibe is very 17-plus. Hire a babysitter if you want to see it in theaters.

Theater or Netflix?: Another one of those where the theater is worth it if you can find it, if only to watch Brie Larson's performance.

Brie Larson, Oscar nominee?: If the universe is fair and just she at least receives a nomination. Her performance is, in the truest sense of the word, awesome, loaded with verve and anger and sadness and happiness that shine through at any given moment. She plays the part of a young mother brilliantly, yet is equably believable when regresses to a teenage state upon returning home. Hopefully the film at least serves as an official launching path for Larson's career as a leading actress; she's deserved it for a rather long time now.

Watch this as well?: Besides reading Plato's “Allegory of the Cave,” the original “Oldboy” also features a man trapped in a room by a mysterious being for a number of years. “Oldboy” much more revenge focused, but the general idea is the same.