Room
“Room is a refreshing look at an incredible journey of discovery and re-birth.”
Room is based off of a book written by Emma Donoghue in 2010. She got the idea from the Elisabeth Fritzl case in Austria where she was held captive for 24 years in a basement by her father Josef. She had been sexually and physically abused resulting in the birth of seven children. (Jurgen Dahlkamp, 2008)
This adaptation of the story goes in-depth into the psyche of both the Mother and child. In the film Joy was taken seven years ago and kept locked away in a shed at the bottom of “Old Nick’s” garden. Old Nick is the name that Joy gives to her capturer as she does not know his real name. She was repeatedly raped and ended up pregnant giving birth to Jack. At the beginning of the story Jack is just turning five years old.
I was slightly worried about how it was going to work with having the majority of the story occurring in one room, but it was done in a remarkable way. The room does not actually feel that small at the beginning of the room as you see it through the eyes of Jack, who has never known anything bigger. It is not until after being freed Joy and Jack return to the room to say goodbye to that part of their lives. When they first walk in Jack does not even recognise it as room as it now appears dark and dingy. Before he didn’t know of the world outside, “what other side of the wall?” He has seen the light, (quite literally!) and sees how small room actually is. You can see this in comparison to the hospital room as the outside wall is just covered in floor to ceiling windows.
In the room there is only 1 source of light, a skylight in the ceiling. A lot of the time both Joy and Jack just sit and stare up at the sky looking for freedom. Jack doesn’t understand what is outside of the room and Joy cannot find a way to explain it so just plays along with the idea that outside the room is space and aliens, playing into the child’s world. The window is a symbol of being trapped and separated from the outside world. This is mirrored once they escape and Jack is in a police car screaming for his Mum, banging on the window and unable to do anything as he is effectively trapped yet again.
Danny Cohen, the cinematographer of the film loves to use windows for imagery and this works so well within the context of this film. I have already mentioned Cohen’s work in this blog as he was also the cinematographer in “The Danish Girl”. A similar idea is used in “The Danish Girl” as the darkness is hiding true life with the light being the discovery of the real world.
The light actually presents the opportunity to explore the health hazards that the characters experience. When he first escapes from the rolled up carpet it is almost as if he has been re-born and the POV handheld shots are all realistic to what he would be seeing and even down to the blurriness as he eyes have never been used to natural light before and he is literally seeing for the first time.
A repeating theme I noticed was the use of rituals throughout the film. In the room Joy can be seen trying to make things easier for Jack growing up. She makes sure he takes vitamins for his health and also maintains an exercise regime. Joy tried to give Jack as much as a normal life as possible, for example he still has to do chores and help with the cleaning. This behaviour even remains after they escape the room. Jack doesn’t understand what a shower is and while Joy is trying to explain it he states “bath before bed that’s the rule”. These rules Joy has implemented to help his development. For instance the ritual of Jack going to sleep in the wardrobe to be protected from Old Nick. Even when they return home and Joy has overdosed and he is separated from her he retreats to the wardrobe as that is the only place he knows how to be alone.
This film really makes you think about the psychological abuse they both suffer as well as the physical abuse. It is not just affecting Joy and Jack but also their family. Joy’s father cannot even look at Jack as he reminds him of the monster that took his only daughter. Although at first you think he is a horrible person for doing this you then see it as a coping mechanism, just like the rituals were in the room. The final ritual you see is right at the end of the film when Jack wants to say goodbye to the room just like he did in the evenings.
I think this film will get a lot of awards and especially Brie Larson who gives a fantastic performance portraying both the vulnerability and strength at the same time. I give this 5/5!
Works Cited
Jurgen Dahlkamp, M. K. (2008, June 5th). The Amstetten Horror House. Retrieved from Spiegel Online: http://m.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-551660.html
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay
Crew: Emma Donoghue – Screenplay, Danny Cohen – Cinematography
Genre: Drama
Rating: 15
Awards: Golden Globe for Best Actress – Brie Larson
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best actress, Best Directing and Best Adapted Screenplay