Movies: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Friday, January 20, 2012
Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), left, and The Renter (Max von Sydow) spy something that may be a clue in Oskar's quest to solve the mystery of the key.
Photo: Francois Duhamel – © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Movie reviewing is — no matter how much the reviewer aims for objectivity — like any other kind of reviewing, a subjective undertaking. It didn’t take me long to realize that when a film is set in New York, I am inclined to like it maybe a bit more than I would were it set elsewhere because, to me, New York City is a special place, a living, breathing character in my own story and in so many books and movies.
When it comes to September 11, 2001, I also feel a special affinity. After the February, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, I had the good fortune to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Twin Towers.
Thus, I was looking forward toExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close, the film version of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about how the terrorism there impacted people.
Extremely Loud is the story of Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) who lives with his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) and mother Linda (Sandra Bullock) in Manhattan. Father and son are very close so, when his father dies in the World Trade Center, Oskar is naturally devastated. What follows is the story of his odyssey through the five boroughs of New York City to find the lock that will opened by a key he found in his father’s belongings.
The key was found in a small envelope with the word “Black” written on it so Oskar sets out, with the therapy tambourine he carries to play in an effort to alleviate anxiety, to track down every Black in the New York phone books. He explains his mission to each, talking about what happened to his father on “the worst day.”
On his journey he meets Abby and William Black (Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright) and, always, must contend with his building’s doorman, Stan (John Goodman). Oskar’s grandmother (Zoe Caldwell) lives across the alley and the two converse by walkie-talkie. Also at his grandmother’s house is the “The Renter” (Max von Sydow), an old man who doesn’t speak and has the words “yes” and “no” tattooed on his palms to make communication easier.
The cast is an interesting one. Tom Hanks is back from Larry Crowne and is again playing an interesting character. Davis and Wright are, as always, a pleasure and Caldwell and von Sydow add spice to the mix. But young Thomas Horn, discovered when he was a contestant on the kids’ version of Jeopardy, is wonderful. For someone who’s never acted before, he is amazing. The speech, the mannerisms of a child with Asperger’s syndrome — all he does adds — along with his beautifully expressive eyes — up to a most mesmerizing, heartbreakingly believable child.
The movie has been criticized by many for being manipulative. And, so it is. Sarah’s Key — along with most Holocaust movies — was also manipulative. War Horse is, too. Movies at which audiences are reduced to tears, even great ones like, say, E.T. are manipulative if, by definition, being manipulative means playing on the emotions of the audience. Well, when the subject matter is 9/11, I expect to respond emotionally and don’t mind at all if I do.
Director Stephen Daldry (The Reader, The Hours, Billy Elliot) and screenwriter Eric Roth make the movie real, even when one might think a kid schleppin through all the boroughs is a bit unrealistic.
I liked this movie a great deal. It’s not easy to watch or, after you’ve seen it, to forget.
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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