Movie Review: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I'm not sure I can remember a time when I disagreed as vehemently with critics as I do when it comes to Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Granted, critics' opinions should be taken with a grain of salt anyway. I do consider what they have to say, but I don't let negative reviews sway me away from seeing something I'd like to.

Even though Extremely Loud was recognized with a Best Picture nomination (rightfully so in my opinion), critics around the country have trashed director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Reader) and his movie as manipulative, and forcefully sentimental. I even read one person call it the "most disgusting" Best Picture nominee they've ever seen.  All I can do is shake my head at reviews like this. In my opinion, they couldn't be more wrong. 

I guess that's the great thing about movies—the fact that different people can have such vastly different views about whether something is good or not.

Adapted by Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider) from a book of the same name, the film tells the story of a boy named Oskar (Thomas Horn), who attempts to move on from the death of his father by solving what he perceives to be one last puzzle left for him by his dad. His father, played with care by Tom Hanks, was a victim of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Oskar's mother (Sandra Bullock) is left balancing her own grief and search for answers with those of her confused, angry and resentful son.

Oskar is unique, suffering from an apparent case of Asperger's syndrome, often characterized by a lack of social skills, pattern-like behaviors and heightened intelligence. The puzzle he's trying to solve, involving a mysterious key, leads him to a wide variety of people all over New York, all with issues of their own. He also meets and befriends the elderly mute (Max von Sydow) who rents a room from Oskar's grandmother. "The Renter," as he is known, has an interesting past of his own, and becomes an essential part of Oskar's search.

In regards to the "overly sentimental" claim many have, there are a couple things that I want to address. The first being that with the exception of a small handful of moments, moments that I've been told are important moments in the book, I did not find the emotions in the film to be manipulative. Yes it's emotional, and yes it's sentimental, but it doesn't exploit 9-11 emotions anywhere near as much as many would have you believe. And let's be honest, this is a story about a young boy dealing with the unexpected, tragic death of his father. How could it NOT be sentimental? If it wasn't, it would feel phony.

The plot is "about" 9-11 only in that what we see would not have occurred absent the events of that day. But what Extremely Loud is really about is loss. It's about the process that different individuals go through in dealing with loss, and the different steps they must take to move on. These are very relatable themes and emotions, 9-11 or no.

The acting is heartfelt and believable across the board. Hanks and Bullock will dominate the marquee as the two biggest names in the film, and they are very important characters. But this is Horn's film. I went into this fully expecting to grow tired of Horn, not because of him particularly, but because very rarely does a child lead not get annoying at some point. Horn falls into that exception category. He displays a wide range of emotions with increasing believability. His mannerisms fit Oskar's character perfectly. My one question would be how much of this is acting as opposed to Horn's natural self. It fits this movie like a glove, but it'll be interesting to see what happens should he act again.

As good as Horn is, the standout is von Sydow in a wordless role. It's hard to really say what it is that makes his character so great. It may be the relationship he develops with Oskar, it may be because we are intrigued by his shrouded character. Whatever it is, von Sydow is fantastic.

Bouncing between images from Oskar's past with his father and images in the present, the structure gives us a great feel for the change in the boy's character and the burden that he now carries with him on a daily basis. There are revelations as the plot unfolds, one in particular, that are a bit hard to swallow. But for me, that's just the nature of this type of story, and they are a lot easier to swallow than an unexplained alternative would be. Regardless of its flaws, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a well told, well made, well acted film that is being unfairly pigeonholed because of its association with 9-11.

Rating: 10/11

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