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Lenny Abrahamson

Exiting the ROOM (Oscar Spotlight)

February 27, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

room 2

Caution:  The following review contains spoilers.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room tells the story of Joy, a woman who has been held prisoner as a sex slave for the last 7 years. During that time, she gives birth to her son, Jack and all that he knows is contained within the walls of their tiny, single room. After finally achieving their freedom, Jack and Joy breathe fresh air for the first time in years… but are they truly free?

In many ways, this is the quiet nominee for best picture. No, I don’t mean any lack of dialogue or music. (We’ll leave that category to The Revenant or Mad Max: Fury Road.) Rather, although this is one of the more deserving nominees in the category, it’s also one of the films with the least amount of viewership.

It’s their mistake.

Powerful from the first scene to the last, Room delivers a beautiful and moving portrait of the damage left in the shadow of sexual abuse and the challenges of moving forward afterwards. What’s more, in an unexpected turn, Abramson chooses to tell the story through the perspective of Jack’s young 5-year old eyes. As a result, the film manages to tell its story with a sense of wonder, fear and innocence that seems to make each moment feel fresh. (It also manages to keep the film from taking a more exploitative tone, which would have been a temptation for many other filmmakers.)

As Jack’s world expands beyond his (albeit brief) life experiences, he is forced to readjust his entire understanding of the universe. Whereas he has been told since birth that there is nothing but outer space beyond the walls of Room, now he is forced to accept that there are trees… and pets… and other people. The life he knew is only a small part of the world that really exists.

room1

Scripture says that the ‘truth will set you free’… but this film takes its time with responding to this idea.

As he and Joy get to experience new life, the question is whether or not they will ever actually experience freedom. Both characters have been damaged deeply and their spiritual journey has only begun. In many ways, this journey is a powerful depiction of our experience with the Gospel. While the story of Christ’s life, death and resurrection promises freedom, our story does not end when in that moment of new spiritual reality. It is just beginning. In fact, all of us who accept Christ must still deal with our stories from the past.

It is possible for one to both breathe the air and yearn for the life we once knew at the same time.

The heart of the Gospel is such that, despite our past hurts, we can begin to see that hope lies outside of ourselves. We understand that, because Christ loves us, we have value. We matter. We were created in His image and that has stayed (even if we’ve mucked it up a little bit.)

No one can take that away from us.

And there is hope within that.

The journeys of Jack and his mother in Room are very different, to be sure. Without spoiling too much, it is fair to say that, while one is able to slowly breathe the joy of new life, the other finds separation from the past to be far more difficult. They are forced to decide whether they’re willing to nervously begin to step into their new life. Their freedom becomes less about the man ‘Old Nick’ and becomes focused on the damage left by him. In the end, they must allow themselves to discover that the hope from their lives lies beyond the walls of Room.

In the end, they must allow themselves to believe that the truth can set them free.

Filed Under: Film, Oscar Spotlight Tagged With: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Lenny Abrahamson, Oscars, Room, truth

Room: Defining Reality

November 13, 2015 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

room1You’re seven years old and your entire existence has been contained in a garden shed. You and your mother name each of the elements of your life and they become your friends. Your mother tries to protect you and keep you from danger, but one day, she realizes that she cannot. You do not know it until later but your mother has been held captive since before you were born, and there is more to the world than you think. 

This is Room.

Joy/Ma (Brie Larson, Trainwreck) has been held captive for seven years, and co-exists with her son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), surviving on the supplies delivered nightly by her captor, rapist, and only adult contact, Old Nick (Sean Bridges). On a daily basis, Joy cares for her son’s needs and education, teaching him that the world is imaginary outside of their room. That is, until he turns five, Old Nick is laid off, and Joy realizes that merely protecting, or at least interfering for, her son is not enough. They must escape.

room 2The conversations that cover the transition from one world to another make the film even more engaging than the dread-filled moments when we recognize the extent of Old Nick’s power and rage. Here, Joy must prove, or convey, that there is an outside world that exists and is possible. It’s a moment that shows, from a Christian perspective, what happens when we begin to see the world through the eyes of God’s kingdom for the first time. There is a sense of disbelief slowly blending with wonder that begins to fill Jack’s mind about what the world might look like.

And then there is the moment of escape. To pass from one world to another, when Jack must die to the world he knows to live in the real world. This is not a Jesus-like moment but a recognition that to share in Christ’s life, we must die to the self we know. And even after, is it not sometimes harder not to return to the hell that we have considered home for so long? Are we not sometimes confused about what real freedom looks like?

The idea reminds me of the prison analogy – forgive me but I can’t come up with who wrote it – where a man enters a prison and shares with the inmates about how they can all be freed if they would follow him through the door. Instead of trusting that he knows the way out, the inmates kill him and retreat to their cells, even with the door wide open. Too often, the world outside is harsher and more difficult to comprehend than the cells we find ourselves in.

This is the beauty of Room, part thriller, part horrific truth, part wonderful story of survival. Larson and Tremblay are so skillfully matched, and their depiction of the bond between a mother and son is amazing. It’s a gripping, epic story that bears watching, like a play in two parts – and one that will ultimately be rewarded in February. No part was overlooked (even the dreaded television interviewer who I loathed) and no detail was glossed over. The tension, the beauty, the dominant spirit – all of these make Room a film that must be seen to be understood.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Brie Larson, Emma Donoghue, Jacob Tremblay, Lenny Abrahamson

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