Room

[03]

i'm genunely disappointed that no one here has mentioned this yet. film of the year (technically) so far.
crazily different from his previous film 'frank' which was pretty horrible. check it out if you're able to, truly amazing.

[Pedro]

I saw it a few months ago, and I loved it as well.  The performances are uniformly excellent.  A very intense and compassionate film. 

Thanks for starting the thread.  Is it too oscar-bait for this crowd?

Edit:  shouldn't this be in the 2015 films?

[ElPandaRoyal]

SPOILERS AHEAD

I also thought Frank was horrible, but I didn't find Room to be that great either, except for the performances. Didn't really seem to have any great impact on me, aside from a couple of moments. The kid is the real standout, but the whole drama situation of the second half seemed a little heavy handed. Also, the directing could have been much better if there was a real work on the sense of space, which is one of the main themes of the film and didn't really show in the visuals. Especially in the first half, when it reminded me of Danny Boyle's handling of 127 Hours, by choosing to do a lot of cutting and points of view to not bore the low attention span audiences, when I felt it should have been way more restricted, more contained. The scene where the kid escapes is nice enough, but then again, someone with a little more sense of suspense building could have made it truly unforgettable. I don't seem to like this Abrahamson dude very much, it seems. Then again, I seem to be on the minority here, this apparently is a crowd pleaser.

[03]

Edit:  shouldn't this be in the 2015 films?

i thought about it. my only thing was it just came to theatres where i am. but by all means move it if necessary.

[Jeremy Blackman]

I don't even have words right now. This movie squeezed everything out of me. There's nothing left.

I'm truly surprised more people haven't been freaking out about Room. If you haven't seen it, I understand. I barely got around to watching it. The title is not great (although I wouldn't change it). The premise sounds like a slog. You might guess it's a bleak, brooding indie movie. But it is decidedly NOT. It's bright and intense. It's visually inventive and expressive in a way I did not expect. And it's a total masterpiece.

Yes there dark parts, of course, but only in the way that darkness exists in reality. Not in one scene or another, but pervasively intertwined with light and optimism, and constantly pushed back by the power of humanity. I think this film accomplishes that without being sentimental because it has a staggering level of emotional complexity.

SPOILERS

It's rare that I struggle to understand why anyone would not love a movie, but this is one such case. I'm trying. I suppose just like The Visit, if the central relationship doesn't work for you, nothing else will. I can see this movie falling flat if you're not on board. But boy was I on board for all of it.

I think the whole thing works because we mostly experience the story from the POV of a 5-year-old. The scenes of discovery genuinely rival what Tree of Life was doing.

50:10 (when Jack first sees the blue sky) is one of the most profound cinematic moments I've ever experienced.

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

Room struck me on such a deep level it's been hard to put into words. Describing a film as "moving" is something I generally try to avoid, but that's the best word for it. It hit me, hard.