Room

Warning: contains spoilers for Room (both the book and the film).

Many moons ago, I bought Emma Donoghue’s book Room on the Kindle because it was on offer and pretty much no other reason.  It quickly became a favourite for reasons too numerous to discuss here.  Room is the story of Jack, a five year old who lives with his mum (Ma) in a room.  Jack has never been outside Room – in fact, he isn’t even aware that there is a world outside.  Every night, Jack goes to sleep in Wardrobe and Old Nick comes to visit Ma.  There are mentions that the bedsprings squeak, and Old Nick makes some strange noises.  What quickly becomes apparent is that Ma was abducted seven years ago by Old Nick, who has locked her in Room by herself, visits and rapes her nightly, and Jack is the product of that life.  Pretty grim, no?

Except in the book, it’s not.  Jack’s naivety means that he is living a happy life in Room, completely satisfied that Ma is his whole world and he wants for nothing.  We know something is wrong because we, as readers, can fill in the gaps.  So, for example, Ma and Jack have routines of things to do – one of which is standing underneath Skylight and seeing who can scream the loudest.  Jack thinks this is a fun game – the reader knows that Ma is still trying to attract attention and get rescued.

I mean, it's not a laugh a minute either...

The book breaks down into 5 separate but distinct chunks – Jack’s life before he knows about the Outside World, their Escape Attempt, Life Together Outside, Life Apart Outside, Life Together Outside Again.  Each chunk provides new challenges, new understanding, new changes in the relationship between Jack and Ma.

I was intrigued when the film was announced, because I just couldn’t see how the film could be anything less than grim.  Emma Donoghue (writer) and Lenny Abrahamson (director) make a good attempt at trying to put the book on screen.  Brie Larson (who won the 2016 best Actress Oscar for the part) and Jacob Tremblay (a 5 year old actor who was nominated for a raft of awards on the back of this film) are a great pairing, and their relationship is very believable throughout.  They quickly and effectively set up Room as cramped, claustrophobic, but Jack’s whole world.

Does it work?  I’m not convinced. 

It’s easy for a book to be read through the eyes of one character, it’s more difficult to translate that into film.  Although the film starts off entirely from Jack’s point of view, and we’re encouraged to understand the world in which he lives, that dissipates quickly and Jack becomes quieter and more unreadable as the film progresses.  To the point, arguably, that Jack seems to quickly get over his traumatic start to life with no real notable consequences.  This is a real shame, because the book is an interesting exploration in how a life in captivity could affect someone physically, psychologically and sociably.  Ma’s progress feels more believable, and Brie Larson gives a nuanced performance as a woman who loves her child (though struggles with his paternity), wants what is best for him, knows that there’s a better life outside of Room, but is a nineteen year old who is in extraordinary circumstances and massively out of her depth who won’t be able to just get over what has happened her. 

Yep - the shiny statue is well deserved.  Enjoy.

Sadly, my criticism is the ever annoying “the film’s not as good as the book”.  A fairly common cry.  But maybe it comes down to this – not every book should be a film, and maybe we should move away from the belief that the ultimate accolade for a good book is to translate it into a different medium.  Some books will naturally lend themselves to film or television, some won’t.  I don’t believe this one did.

This is not to criticise either Larson or Tremblay, who give outstanding performances (and Tremblay’s is particularly impressive because he is so young – he is precocious without being too knowing, cute without being saccharine. 

Look - a not-annoying child actor.

A good child actor is hard to find, and a lot of this film rests of his very tiny shoulders.).  But until a decent way is found to express a character’s inner monologue (that isn’t just the actor reading out sections of the book in voiceover), maybe some books should just be read.