Saturday, March 31, 2012

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


Ron and I finally watched this movie last night. I don't know what took us so long to see it, except that maybe we were afraid that it would be too sad given the subject matter. Although there aren't many films that deal with 9/11, we have pretty much avoided them. It's been over 10 years, but it still hurts to think about it.

This movie was nominated for Best Picture this year but did not win. Had I been allowed to vote, I definitely would have ranked it higher than "The Artist." It took me about 15 minutes to get over being put off by the young star of the film. He was very odd, but was supposed to be. It was hinted at in the film that he might have Asberger's Syndrome or some other mild form of autism. Thomas Horn is the young actor that played Oskar Schell. By the end of the movie, he had me in the palm of his hand. Tom Hanks is the father who dies in one of the towers. He is present in the movie in a series of flashbacks that show what a close and important relationship Oskar had with his father. Tom Hanks is my favorite actor and I wish he'd had more scenes, but for the purpose of the film, it was enough. Sandra Bullock played Oskar's mother and she was equally wonderful. My favorite scenes were of Oskar and his new friend "the renter." Max Von Sydow did not speak one word in the entire film but his presence in it was absolutely crucial.

I'm glad that we didn't see this film when it was in the theaters. It would have spoiled it for me to have other people around me crunching their popcorn and unwrapping their candy. As it was I had to tune out Ron's snoring. Yes, we watched it on pay per view in the comfort of our home movie theater (also known as my California King!). In Ron's defense, he was very tired after a long week at work and couldn't keep his eyes open. He woke up in time to find me wiping my eyes and sniffling. Do see this movie. I recommend it enthusiastically.

1 comment:

Don Meyer said...

I, too, have avoided 911 films. I may reconsider.