What do Josef Fritzl, Ariel Castro and Old Nick have in common? It is the fact that they all kidnapped young women, placed them in a room, imprisoned them there for several years, raped and starved them, but were eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison. The only difference is that Fritzl and Castro are real people, while Old Nick is a fictional character from Emma Donoghue’s novel, Room, which was later made into a film with the same title. Donoghue’s book was also inspired by the Fritzl case: he kept her own daughter in a basement for 24 years and had seven children with her.
Watching the movie Roomone cannot help but remember the shocking stories of Fritzl and Castro, and the ordeal that the women they kidnapped had to go through.
Room introduces us to Ma (Brie Larson) and her son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who just turned five. The room is actually a shed in the backyard of the Old Nick compound. We learn that Ma is actually Joy Newman, who has been in that shed for seven years. When she was seventeen, Old Nick tricked her by telling her that her dog had fallen somewhere and that she needed help from her. She helped him, but she got trapped as a result. She eventually got pregnant, but decided to keep her child stating later in an interview that her child is nobody’s but hers. She has developed a certain coexistence with her captor because he brings necessary items like food and clothing to survive, but to her son, Old Nick is someone best kept away from and avoided. Every night when old Nick comes to sleep with her, he places Jack in the closet. When Old Nick showed interest in Jack, she was very protective. They had managed to escape, but after seven years of being caged in a small windowless room, Joy found the world was too much to take in.
This film does not show the harrowing details of being locked in a room, as it is told from the point of view of a child. One can catch the fragmented cinematic movement in the film as Jack’s imagination and playfulness are emphasized. Proving resourceful, Ma used eggshells and tissue rolls as toys for Jack. Ma’s fierce love for her son Jack allowed the boy to grow up with a fondness for literature and plenty of common sense. When Ma devised a bold plan to escape, it was through Jack that it materialized. When Ma decided to overdose on pills, it was Jack who found out and asked for help. That bond that unites mother and son, similar to an umbilical cord, is emphasized without so much drama.
Larson and Tremblay gave such outstanding performances here. Tremblay’s acting is so innocent and raw that she feels like she’s not acting at all. Joan Allen, as Ma’s mother, also pulled off a brilliant supporting act by displaying a range of emotions ranging from relief, anger, and guilt. If there’s a downside to this movie, it’s that William H. Macy plays mom’s dad. He overplayed the role, and the script could have given him more speaking parts than just apologizing over and over again.
Fritzl, Castro and Old Nick also have something else in common. The women they have kidnapped successfully escaped and lived to tell their stories. Room it will give you an idea of what it means to be in their shoes.