What is your greatest fear? For me, and I imagine many others, confinement to a small space, with only the slightest chance of catching a glimpse of the outside world, is pretty high up on the list. Add to this the elements of being confined to a small space against your will for a long period of time, with no idea of when or even if you’ll be able to leave, and you have the makings of a nightmare.This is the basic premise of “Room,” or at least the first half of it. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, the film is written by Emma Donoghue — based on her novel of the same name — and is currently in theaters. It’s the recipient of that tenuous thing called “Oscar Buzz” due to its being awarded the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival in September — in the past six years, winners of that award have racked up a total of 53 nominations, with three of the films winning Best Picture.Brie Larson plays Joy, the woman who is locked in a room. At first we don’t know why she is there, or even if she’s there against her will. With her in the room is her 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a surprisingly intelligent if emotionally stunted child, considering it seems as if he has spent his entire short life in their small living space.The two have developed a close bond, spending their days exercising, playing games with the few resources at their disposal, and watching a small television with bad reception. Before going to bed, Jack walks around the room saying goodnight to the stove, the toilet, the couch, and the television. They are his only friends.It’s through Jack’s attachment to the television that Joy begins to explain to her child the reality of their situation, but the fact that a world exists outside their room is impossible for him to grasp. The only thing he knows is his mom, their few belongings, and the mysterious man named Old Nick, who arrives once a week bringing groceries and who, in exchange, has sex with Joy while Jack sleeps in a small wardrobe closet. Are they members of a doomsday prophesying cult? When Old Nick leaves he locks the door behind him, and the room has the distinct feel of a bunker.The script does a good job of slowly laying out details, piece by piece. Joy is remarkably calm most of the time, resigned to her situation. It’s only when dealing with her son, and his lack of understanding of why they are in the room, that she begins feel an immediate pressure to escape. She finally tells them why they’re in the room, how long she has been there, and why they need to get out as soon as possible. From there, she devises a plan.There’s no way of talking about the second half of the film without revealing the climax of their attempted escapes, which ends in a heart-racing sequence that practically gave me a panic-attack. But what can be said is that the film has more on its mind than exploring Joy and Jack’s life in the room. Other characters are revealed, and we are also thrown into the outside world. When the mystery of “Room” is solved, the film loses focus, resorting to clichés about abandonment and reconciliation. The first half is a like a powder keg ready to explode, and when it finally does it’s brilliant. But it’s a tension — will they or will they not make it out of the room? — that could have been contained for even longer. Instead, “Room” stops short. The aftermath does not live up to what came before. It shifts gears too quickly and in doing so, manages to turn a good movie into a mediocre one.
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