Losing someone is painful and heart wrenching. As humans we will
go through a lot of different emotions during our time of grievance and
the reaction overall will be different based on the individual. During
this time, some people save things that remind them of the ones that
they lost. I guess you might want to keep some kind of connection to the
person who is no longer here. In the film Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) feels the same way.
After his
father passes away in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Oskar goes into
withdrawal. He already has a ton of phobias that wouldn't allow him to
do much, but this tragic loss made everything worse. He becomes more
isolated and frustrated and feels that he has no one to talk to. A year
after the incident he finds a key that he believes his father (Tom
Hanks) wanted him to find. Figuring that the key is supposed to be used
to find something his father left for him, he decides to go around all
five boroughs of New York to solve this mystery. While searching the
city, he meets all kinds of people, learning about them and himself in
the process.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the definition
of a heartfelt drama. They do their best to get the audience to feel
and understand what each person in the film is going through. If you've
lost a parent or someone who you emotionally relied upon (especially if
you were a child when it happened), you will have no issues being able
to understand what's going on with this kid and the people surrounding
him. This movie was more than about loss. It's also about overcoming
fears, self discovery, rebuilding relationships and forgiveness.
Director
Stephen Daldry and the actors do an intelligent job of humanizing the
characters using tragic events in their personal lives. We see this
through their interactions with one another and also during the times
when they're alone. Oskar deals with the loss of his father in multiple
ways. He has a very strained, spiteful and detached relationship with
his mother (Sandra Bullock). He takes a lot of his frustrations out on
her and even himself at times. Through Thomas Horn's portrayal of his
character, we see the anger and frustration when one might feel like
they're all alone with no answers and no one to guide them.
Along
with a strong but slightly overacted performance of Horn, Tom Hanks and
Sandra Bullock should also be commended for their performances. Hanks
plays the loveable dad well and he gives a glimpse into why he's been a
highly regarded actor for all these years. For Bullock, she uses a
subdued and subtle approach when portraying the role of a damaged and
broken widowed mother. She's able to make you see the pain and anguish
in her character just by looking at her face. I really liked her facial
expressions as they were used to tell a story by themselves in so many
of her scenes.
I didn't lose anyone in the 9/11 attacks or
anything, but I could relate to some of what was going on in this film,
because my father passed away when I was about the same age as this kid
in the film. I can definitely understand the emotions and feelings that
they were trying to illustrate. This is a film that hits emotionally
hard. It's not really an "inspirational film" in my opinion and I don't
think it's supposed to be. It's a film about humans behaving like humans
and reacting the way several of us would or have in these difficult
circumstances. It also wants us to see how we can heal our wounds and
improve ourselves over time.
I wouldn't be surprised if this film
is nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award; it appears to have all
the hallmarks that Academy voters would seem to want. Personally, I view
it as a great movie driven by its emotions, and great acting from
basically everyone involved. Anyway you look at it, Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close is a movie that deserves recognition.
Score: 3.5/5
Rating: PG-13
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast:
Thomas Horn
Tom Hanks
Sandra Bullock
Max Von Sydow
John Goodman
Viola Davis
Jeffrey Wright
Zoe Caldwell
Thomas Horn
Tom Hanks
Sandra Bullock
Max Von Sydow
John Goodman
Viola Davis
Jeffrey Wright
Zoe Caldwell
Film Length: 129 minutes
Release Dates:
December 25, 2011 (Limited Release)
January 20, 2012 (Everywhere)
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Article Source:
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