Serious Movie Lover

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (2011/IN THEATERS)  At the center of this film is 11-year old Oskar Schell, whose father was in one of the twin towers on the morning of 9/11 and is presumed to have jumped to his death.  Oskar (played by first timer Tom Horn) is a precocious and very bright child (he has been tested for Asperger’s) whose loving and warm father had devoted much time and energy to his upbringing.  Through many flashbacks, we see the father (a very solid Tom Hanks) interacting with his son, posing word challenges and creating giant puzzles needing to be solved, including the ultimate challenge for young Oskar—discovering proof of the 6^th borough of New York City.  This is the puzzle the two were working on when 9/11 hit.  So it feels only natural that Oskar, grieving for his father, creates the ultimate challenge for himself when he discovers a secret key in his father’s closet—with the only clue being the word “Black” hand-written on the little envelope which holds it.  Oskar sets off on to find out what that key unlocks, determined to meet everyone named “Black” in all of NYC.  This description makes the movie sound somewhat straightforward, but as readers of the book by Jonathan Safran Foer know, it is a very complicated and interwoven tale, full of emotion, memory and endless searching.  Among the other characters important to the story are Oskar’s grieving mother (Sandra Bullock, also very good), his indulgent and loving grandmother (Zoe Caldwell), and her mysterious renter who never speaks (a marvelous 80-year-old Max Von Sydow).  You’ll recognize Viola Davis, John Goodman and Jeffrey Wright in other small but key roles.  There are lots of faces and tons of story to go around.  Some critics (and viewers) have found the film too manipulative—as in, trying to pull 9/11 tears from us yet again.  But I think director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth have done a good job with a very difficult book and topic.  And they cast well when they found young Tom Horn on a kid’s Jeopardy show—he has just the right balance between fascinating, endearing and totally irritating—all called for in the part.  The movie is a bit long at 2 hours and 9 minutes, but I think, if you are a fan of Daldry’s “The Hours,” you will enjoy this one as well.

Grade:             A-

BTW:  Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel, “Everything is Illuminated,” was also made into a movie by Liev Schreiber.  It’s one of my personal favorites—be sure to check it out!

Tags Eric Roth, Jeffrey Wright, Jonathan Safran Foer, Sandra Bullock, Stephen Daldry, Tom Hanks, Tom Horn, Zoe Caldwell