Room (2015) is a suspenseful drama I saw this evening via the Arthouse Film Festival. It is adapted from the novel of the same name, and, as luck would have it, the script was brought to the screen by the book’s author, Emma Donoghue, something that rarely happens. The filmmakers were committed to making the film according to the original vision, and it works.

The film starts with a young woman, Joy (Brie Larson), in a small room with her son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay). She teaches him things (reading, Writing, etc), and they play from time to time. It’s a meager existence. They are occasionally visited by a Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), who delivers goods to them, while Jack ‘hides’ in the wardrobe. We come to find that Ma has been in this room for 7 years, and is a captive of the man. She’s tried escaping once before, to no avail. Jack is turning 5, and is beginning to understand the difference between reality and make believe. The arrival of a mouse gets Jack thinking, trying to understand the concept of inside and outside of Room, which is his only frame of reference. Joy and Jack fight, as Ma starts concocting a plan for getting out. How well it succeeds I leave to you to discover.

This is only the first part of the film. As you would expect, the situation changes, but how? What of Joy and Jack? Do they survive? What happens ‘after’? How does Joy’s family respond, and what happened since her abduction? Many films would not explore these possibilities, and would end shortly after ‘discovery’, on a happy note, but this one spends half it’s run length exploring it. It’s an appealing and completely plausible investigation into how things could evolve after that one moment when it all changes.

I’m trying to avoid spoiling anything more than I’ve had to. Brie Larson gives a strong and convincing performance, and Jacob gives a performance befitting the situation. William H. Macy and Joan Allen play their parts well, too.

I do recommend the movie.