"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" (2011), Rated "PG-13" for Adult Situations, Adult Language and Thematic Elements. Running Time: 2hrs.&9mns.
My Take **1/2 (out of ****)
Like "Hugo" (2011), "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" tells the story of an adolescent who loses his father to a horrible tragedy and then seeks a special message from him from beyond the grave to cope with the loss. Coincidentally, both films are contenders for the Best Picture Oscar on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 (which is 1.5 week(s) away from this writing).
The film centers around the high functioning Oskar (Thomas Horn). He's a brilliant child lacking in social graces. It is observed he may have Asperger's syndrome which makes sense given his erratic behavior.
Oskar's father Tom (Tom Hanks, "Larry Crowne") knew Oskar to be a very bright lad. He often engaged Oskar in activities that stirred his mind and kept him thinking. Their relationship was very idealistic. If everyone had a father like Thomas Schell, the world would be a better place.
Unfortunately, the world isn't a better place. We learn that Tom Schell was one of the over 3,000 victims who perished at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Since his body was never recovered, an empty coffin was buried at his funeral which troubled his young son.
Oskar has great difficulty coping with his father's death. His mother Linda (Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side") is beyond grief over losing her husband and worries over the self-imposed social isolation of Oskar. He engages in self injury, pinching himself all over his body, while dealing with his calamity.
One year later Oskar finally visits his father's bedroom again. While seeking a connection to his father, he discovers a mysterious key in an envelope labeled "Black." What is this key? Why was it in his father's possession? Convinced the key must have a significant meaning, and a possible message from his late father, Oskar is on a quest to discover what the key opens. He meets the film's most interesting character who is simply known as "The Renter" (Max von Sydow, "Shutter Island"). He's an elderly gentleman who secretly lives with Oskar's grandmother (Zoe Caldwell). He hasn't spoken a word since experiencing the Holocaust firsthand. Here is a man who hasn't been able to cope much with the world around him, similar to Oskar. He's seen his fair share of unhappiness, though he does find compassion for Oskar and aids him to find out what the key is for.
It's nice to see a unique friendship develop between the two. "The Renter" helps bring the fearful Oskar out of his "shell." As they bond, we discover the secret Oskar has kept since the final moments of his father's life and who "The Renter" really is.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is a rather strange film. The subject matter is the most serious of its kind: dealing with the emotional toll on those who are the survivors of the victims of Sept. 11. At the same time, the film gets a little whimsical in its quest to make sense of loss. The key, the elderly mute fellow and a tambourine are bizarre elements in a story of a young boy coming to terms with the events in life beyond our control.
I normally would not mind whimsy in movies about youth and discovery, but this is a story that uses Sept. 11 as a major plot device. Is it too soon for a breezy film with Sept. 11 as a backdrop? Can that fateful day be used as a springboard for this kind of film?
This feature is based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer. The critics of that book echoed many of the same concerns I had with the film version. Harry Siegel of the New York Press titled his review "Extremely Cloying & Incredibly False: Why the author of 'Everything Is Illuminated' is a fraud and a hack," believing Foer was exploiting Sept. 11 for his personal financial gain. Anis Shivani with The Huffington Post went as so far to add Foer to "The 15 Most Overrated Contemporary American Writers." In contrast, The Spectator felt "the book is a heartbreaker: tragic, funny and intensely moving."
The book was adapted into the screenplay by Eric Roth, who also scripted "Forrest Gump" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Like "Extremely Loud," those are films about unique characters in unique circumstances. One can assume this kind of movie might be Roth's screen writing "calling." Behind the camera directing is Stephen Daldry, who brought us the acclaimed post-Holocaust drama "The Reader." Daldry has a penchant for real life events being the catalysts for the characters in his films to grow and develop over time. You would think with these two talents as the driving forces behind "Extremely Loud" you would have a thoughtful and intriguing picture.
What do you get from "Extremely Loud" when it's over? There's no denying the first rate acting. Max von Sydow even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role. That's saying something about a character who says nothing. The pacing is reasonable and the conclusion is what it is. You have a decent picture, but not much else. Perhaps the whimsy doesn't mix well with the most horrible national tragedy from the last decade.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is a likable and watchable film with some great moments. It just doesn't resonate with you afterwards. You are left asking yourself, what was this about and why? I suspect it's about coping with dramatic change and growing beyond comfort zones. But shouldn't a film framed within the aftermath of Sept. 11 be something more? One would think.
My Take **1/2 (out of ****)
Like "Hugo" (2011), "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" tells the story of an adolescent who loses his father to a horrible tragedy and then seeks a special message from him from beyond the grave to cope with the loss. Coincidentally, both films are contenders for the Best Picture Oscar on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 (which is 1.5 week(s) away from this writing).
The film centers around the high functioning Oskar (Thomas Horn). He's a brilliant child lacking in social graces. It is observed he may have Asperger's syndrome which makes sense given his erratic behavior.
Oskar's father Tom (Tom Hanks, "Larry Crowne") knew Oskar to be a very bright lad. He often engaged Oskar in activities that stirred his mind and kept him thinking. Their relationship was very idealistic. If everyone had a father like Thomas Schell, the world would be a better place.
Unfortunately, the world isn't a better place. We learn that Tom Schell was one of the over 3,000 victims who perished at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Since his body was never recovered, an empty coffin was buried at his funeral which troubled his young son.
Oskar has great difficulty coping with his father's death. His mother Linda (Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side") is beyond grief over losing her husband and worries over the self-imposed social isolation of Oskar. He engages in self injury, pinching himself all over his body, while dealing with his calamity.
One year later Oskar finally visits his father's bedroom again. While seeking a connection to his father, he discovers a mysterious key in an envelope labeled "Black." What is this key? Why was it in his father's possession? Convinced the key must have a significant meaning, and a possible message from his late father, Oskar is on a quest to discover what the key opens. He meets the film's most interesting character who is simply known as "The Renter" (Max von Sydow, "Shutter Island"). He's an elderly gentleman who secretly lives with Oskar's grandmother (Zoe Caldwell). He hasn't spoken a word since experiencing the Holocaust firsthand. Here is a man who hasn't been able to cope much with the world around him, similar to Oskar. He's seen his fair share of unhappiness, though he does find compassion for Oskar and aids him to find out what the key is for.
It's nice to see a unique friendship develop between the two. "The Renter" helps bring the fearful Oskar out of his "shell." As they bond, we discover the secret Oskar has kept since the final moments of his father's life and who "The Renter" really is.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is a rather strange film. The subject matter is the most serious of its kind: dealing with the emotional toll on those who are the survivors of the victims of Sept. 11. At the same time, the film gets a little whimsical in its quest to make sense of loss. The key, the elderly mute fellow and a tambourine are bizarre elements in a story of a young boy coming to terms with the events in life beyond our control.
I normally would not mind whimsy in movies about youth and discovery, but this is a story that uses Sept. 11 as a major plot device. Is it too soon for a breezy film with Sept. 11 as a backdrop? Can that fateful day be used as a springboard for this kind of film?
This feature is based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer. The critics of that book echoed many of the same concerns I had with the film version. Harry Siegel of the New York Press titled his review "Extremely Cloying & Incredibly False: Why the author of 'Everything Is Illuminated' is a fraud and a hack," believing Foer was exploiting Sept. 11 for his personal financial gain. Anis Shivani with The Huffington Post went as so far to add Foer to "The 15 Most Overrated Contemporary American Writers." In contrast, The Spectator felt "the book is a heartbreaker: tragic, funny and intensely moving."
The book was adapted into the screenplay by Eric Roth, who also scripted "Forrest Gump" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Like "Extremely Loud," those are films about unique characters in unique circumstances. One can assume this kind of movie might be Roth's screen writing "calling." Behind the camera directing is Stephen Daldry, who brought us the acclaimed post-Holocaust drama "The Reader." Daldry has a penchant for real life events being the catalysts for the characters in his films to grow and develop over time. You would think with these two talents as the driving forces behind "Extremely Loud" you would have a thoughtful and intriguing picture.
What do you get from "Extremely Loud" when it's over? There's no denying the first rate acting. Max von Sydow even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role. That's saying something about a character who says nothing. The pacing is reasonable and the conclusion is what it is. You have a decent picture, but not much else. Perhaps the whimsy doesn't mix well with the most horrible national tragedy from the last decade.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is a likable and watchable film with some great moments. It just doesn't resonate with you afterwards. You are left asking yourself, what was this about and why? I suspect it's about coping with dramatic change and growing beyond comfort zones. But shouldn't a film framed within the aftermath of Sept. 11 be something more? One would think.