Room

     Based on the best selling novel by Emma Donoghue, "Room" is an intense drama of fierce maternal love as well as sexual and psychological abuse.

      Kidnapped at 17 and locked away in a shed where she is repeatedly raped for seven years, "Ma" gives birth to Jack, who's entire world exists inside "Room". When the film opens, we observe Ma and Jack's daily existence locked inside "Room". Jack is five years old and the inside of the shed is the only world he knows except for what he sees on a small TV set, that he believes is all made up.

       The bond between mother and son is unbreakable and even "Old Nick" as Ma has decided to call her tormentor can't come between them. This is a remarkable drama with a screenplay by the author that mirrors her novel almost scene for scene. The camera work and set design of "Room" gives the viewer a 360 degree angle of the claustrophobic world they inhabit.

       The story is narrated by Jack so most of what happens is from his point of view. When"Old Nick" pays his "visits" to Ma, she puts Jack inside a cabinet to shield him from what is about to happen. The camera stays on Jack as he tries to make sense of what might be happening on the other side of the cabinet door. The film is directed by Lenny Abrahamson with a very delicate touch.

        This is an emotional powerhouse of a story. Brie Larson as "Ma" and Jacob Tremblay as "Jack" are both incredible. The chemistry between them is undeniable and young Master Tremblay is nothing short of astonishing. Joan Allen co-stars along with a brief cameo by William H. Macy as Jack's grandparents. 

          While the subject matter and plot sound horrific, the focus is really on the relationship between mother and son and there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel.