Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Starring: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow, John Goodman, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boy (Thomas Horn) struggles after the death of his father (Tom Hanks) on September 11th. He finds a mysterious key, and starts an adventure to discover the lock, hoping it will bring him closer to his father.

Review:

Tim: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a fascinating movie. It's the story of a boy who struggles to move on after the death of his father in 9/11. However, it's also a story about resiliency, faith, love, and the interconnectedness we all share. It's a film that recevied lukewarm reviews, yet somehow managed to snag an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It's been called emotional and powerful, as well as manipulative. It's a polarizing movie. I figured I would either love it or hate it, but I actually found myself moving down the middle path- this is a good movie, not terrible, not great. It is certainly flawed, but it has some wonderful moments as well.

The central story is pretty interesting, because audiences do love a mystery. After the death of his father, Oskar finds a mysterious key in his father's room. This starts off a quest for him to track down every person with the last name of Black in New York City (if the last name was Szczerbiak, it would have been a shorter movie) to find out what the key opens. Along the way, we discover more about Oskar, his father, and his mother. The movie is certainly emotional, as anything with a 9/11 connection will strike a nerve with American audiences. The mystery is interesting- what does the key open? How will Oskar change once he figures it out? THe mysteriousness of it all it keeps us interested.

Unfortunately, the end of the film is a bit of a letdown. This can sometimes happen when the mystery's conclusion isn't quite as satisfying as we hoped. It is likely a realistic explanation, so it gets points for that. Unfortunately, it almost feels like the whole movie was a wasted trip. Of course, the film doesn't want us to feel like that, so the ending takes quite a bit of time telling us why the journey was so important to Oskar and how it helped him cope with his father's death. It all felt a bit forced to me. There is also a surprising twist at the end, but it also felt very forced and invalidated the movie quite a bit. It certainly did not contribute to the feeling that the movie was manipulating the audience.

The cast is interesting. Thomas Horn certainly gives an unforgettable, unique performance. It's certainly mature beyond his years. I was very impressed with his acting ability. Unfortunately, I also found the character of Oskar a bit annoying, and Horn's performance occasionally strayed into this territory, making him even less likable. I suppose the performance was realistic, but I never loved Oskar, which hurt some, because then my investment in his quest was diminished. He's a weird, almost borderline autistic boy, and his quirks made it hard to identify with him. His father, played by Tom Hanks, is also interesting. I love Tom Hanks, and seeing a new Hanks movie is usually a cause for celebration for me. However, I couldn't really get all that excited because his role is so small and done through flashbacks. Hanks certainly makes the most of his screen time, but doesn't have the opportunity to really impact the film- this is definitely Horn's film.

I thought Sandra Bullock was a little miscast as Horn's mother. She is fine in the role, but doesn't give a strong performance at all. I felt like her talent was wasted, as most of the movie she is just sitting arund looking sad. She never had one moment that made me sit up or take notice. It felt like the whole film, she was lurking in the shadows. This brings me to Max von Sydow. Sydow is one of the greatest actors of all time, and delivers another outstanding performance here. It's amazing to see actors turning in great work in their 80s. Sydow gives a completely silent performance, but also takes over the movie the second he's first on screen. His presence is huge and powerful, and greatly improved the movie for me. I loved his character and his portrayal was very memorable. He seemed like such an interesting, complex character, and I loved every second he was on screen. He interacted so well with Horn and others around him. Sydow is what makes this movie better than it could have been. He saves the middle of the movie. I was very glad that he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, because he absolutely deserved it. The cast is rounded out by small performances- John Goodman adds next to nothing, Viola Davis is fine in a small role, Jeffrey Wright actually does a very good job with his short screen time. The cast as a whole is impressive.

In the end, I found Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close to be a fascinating film. Because of my love for Tom Hanks, I'm glad it received an Best Picture nomination, although to be fair, I do not believe it was quite that good. I certainly wouldn't include it on my "Best of 2011" list. However, I still very much enjoyed the movie. It was a thought-provoking, occasionally powerful movie. The ending wasn't the greatest, and the film contains far too many flaws to be great, unfortunately. Still, this is a good movie and I'm very glad I watched it. This film is worth seeing for Sydow alone.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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