Director: Leonard Abrahamson
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 3.0
Inspired by the disturbing Josef Fritzl case, a young woman (Brie Larson) and Jack (Jacob Tremblay), her son, are imprisoned in a small shed by 'Old Nick' (Sean Bridgers), her kidnapper/impregnator, so Mom and Child have to concoct a scheme to break free. Granted one can overlook the contrivances that allow them to eventually escape and gain the attention of the authorities/medical personnel, this ends up being a startling metaphor for postpartum depression: in the 'outside world,' one would expect the child to be the one most severely affected by being exposed to 'real life,' except Jack learns to flourish - the movie does an admirable job depicting his 'wonderment' with non-confined 'existence'/'freedom' - while Mom experiences extreme sadness and difficulty finally being an autonomous human and single mother (there to 'help' are her birth parents, played by Joan Allen and William H. Macy, although the picture indicates Larson's disappearance contributed to their separation). The ending is probably a little too pat - both victims get to re-visit the horrid 'Room' ... and hopefully move on with their lives - but the connection between Larson and Tremblay is utterly convincing.
