In Room (2015), Brie Larson enacts a woman subjected to the same nightmare the three female victims of Ariel Castro incurred. Remember the kidnapping and imprisonment? The woman has a five-year-old son (Jason Trembley) produced through the Castro-like abductor’s routine rape of the woman. . . Human evil in Room is what it is because it deprives other people of what is good and vital (e.g., freedom). Indeed, it is okay with the abductor (Sean Bridgers) if Jack, the young boy, is deprived of a childhood; it is only his mother who provides him with one to the best of her ability. Childhood during victimization is a theme here.
Though not as well-plotted as it is well-made, Lenny Abrahamson‘s film has riveting dramatic scenes and is deeply moving. The most impressive thing about it, though, is the acting of Larson and young Trembley, who contribute a great deal to making the picture fascinating.
Room is based on a novel by Emma Donoghue, who wrote the screenplay.
