One of my very early blog posts in May 2012 was a book review of Room by Emma Donoghue which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010. Last month, I attended a preview screening at The Hospital Club in central London of the new film adaptation directed by Lenny Abrahamson with a screenplay written by Donoghue herself. Starring Brie Larson as Ma and Jacob Tremblay as her son Jack, ‘Room’ has already received widespread critical acclaim including four Academy Award nominations earlier today and has dominated film festivals around the world. It had a limited release last October in the United States and will open in cinemas across the UK tomorrow on Friday 15th January 2016.
Those who have read ‘Room’ will know that it isn’t a “typical” Man Booker Prize shortlisted book in the literary sense but its depiction of a child’s understanding of growing up in captivity is extremely powerful. Looking back at my review, it seems that I thought Donoghue’s portrayal of Jack was a little uneven although I really don’t remember that having a major impact on either my enjoyment of the book or its overall effectiveness. Inspired by the Josef Fritzl case in Austria which came to light in 2008, it tells the story of Ma, kidnapped by Old Nick seven years ago when she was a teenager and held against her will in a tiny shed known as Room. Her five year old son Jack fathered by Old Nick has never left Room and his understanding of the world “outside” is very limited.
In many ways, ‘Room’ reminded me of the film adaptation of ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ in that it’s an excellent film in its own right which may even win over those who were less keen on the book. While Lionel Shriver’s novel was told through Eva’s letters to her estranged husband, ‘Room’ is told entirely from Jack’s point of view as a young child who knows nothing of the world “outside”. It’s a challenging perspective to translate on screen and it’s one that ‘Room’ mostly succeeds in portraying convincingly.
Brie Larson’s performance as Ma has rightfully been singled out for praise and her on-screen chemistry with Jacob Tremblay who was just seven years old during filming movingly portrays the strong bond between Ma and Jack. The harrowing sense of claustrophobia isn’t just confined to the early scenes set in Room itself. In the second half of the film after the gripping scenes of Jack and Ma’s escape, they become imprisoned once again both physically by the media camped outside their home and emotionally as they struggle to adjust to life “outside”.
Overall, the film is inevitably less subtle than the book as the viewer doesn’t need to read between the lines in quite the same way that the reader has to interpret the surroundings according to Jack’s limited understanding of the world around him. However, despite the challenges in portraying Jack’s perspective of events, the film remains extraordinarily effective thanks to two outstanding performances by Larson and Tremblay who successfully convey the emotional power of Jack and Ma’s bond without descending into mawkishness.
‘Room’ is out on general release in UK cinemas tomorrow. Many thanks to Eric from Lonesome Reader for inviting me to the screening.
A Little Blog of Books 
I found it difficult to believe that the film could possibly work in the way that the book did but your review shows that it should work at least to those who haven’t read the book.
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Yes in the wrong hands it could easily have been too mawkish or sensationalised. I think both those who have read the book and those who haven’t would enjoy it.
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I might try it then.
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Oh I can’t wait to see this film. How wonderful that you could go early, great review as always. Am so happy that Emma D has been able to do the screenplay as am imagining that she will have done her book proud and will be intrigued to see how the Baftas/Oscars go…
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Yes I think Emma Donoghue did a great job and definitely deserves her Oscar and Bafta nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Can’t wait to see it. Just saw “Carol” yesterday, the women are really coming into their own this year with such strong films – and see that Charlotte Rampling, having been rebuffed by the Baftas, has been nominated in the USA – “45 Years” is out here at the end of the month and am on tenterhooks to see that too …
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I want to see both of these films (and read the Patricia Highsmith book too…)
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The book was such a shock to read. Yet to see the film
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Yes both the book and now the film have had a real impact on me – hope you enjoy it when you see it.
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I too wasn’t sure I was going to watch it since I couldn’t see how it could translate to the screen – and I was a bit irritated by the trailer showing them outside Room since for me that was such a major development when I was reading. I had resigned them to this captive life so I read the whole escape with my heart in my mouth. It seems a shame that people watching the film who haven’t read the book won’t get that same since of surprise and exhilaration but I suppose I should reserve judgement on that until I see it! 🙂
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For me, Room is like a two-act play with showing “before” and “after” but then the escape is a spoiler if you don’t know the story. The escape scenes in Room were the strongest part of the film in my view – hope you enjoy it when you see it!
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Although I reckon the book will still be better, I’m looking forward to seeing Room.
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Hope you enjoy it – there are a few elements which are lost in the film in terms of interpreting Jack’s view of events but otherwise I thought it was a very effective adaptation.
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Oh how great you got to attend with Eric, London is such a fabulous city with so many great opportunities. The book was so affecting, I can’t imagine how it would come across in a film, I wonder if it will come to France?
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Eric didn’t come with me as he’d already seen an earlier screening but he told me about it at one of the Young Writer of the Year Award events. According to the French Wikipedia entry, it will be out in France in March 🙂
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Oh thanks for that, I’ll look out for it, hopefully they wont change the title, sometimes they do that with English films, change it to another English name/word, but Room hopefully is a word everyone knows.
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I didn’t take to the book ‘Room’, although I’ve enjoyed all of Emma Donoghue’s books. (Admittedly it’s different to her others) I had no desire to see the film, however your blog has tempted me. Maybe for me personally this is an instance where I will prefer the film to the book.
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If you ever do see it, I hope you enjoy it. I thought it was a very well-produced film with some fantastic acting so I would recommend it to anyone.
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I haven’t read the book yet but I’m so excited for the film. Of course I will read the book first.
The change in perspective seems to be a good idea. The lack of subtlety might actually work to make the movie more appealing to a wider audience. I do hope it releases in India…..
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Yes any film adaptation will differ in some way from the book. Thankfully, the choices made for Room were good ones.
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Absolutely loved the book and have been wondering how it would translate onto the screen. Thanks for the review! Really want to watch the movie now, but I have no idea when/if it will be released in India
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Thanks, I can’t see a release date for Room on the IMDb website but I hope you get to see it one day. It’s a really interesting adaptation.
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Shame on me: I didn’t know that the movie was based on a book other than on a real story, I will definitely read it. I really liked the movie but I think Brie Larson’s performance has been a little underrated, maybe because everyone is focused on Cate Blanchett and Jen Law for the Oscars…
Thank for the review and compliments for your blog!
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Thanks! Yes, Brie Larson definitely deserves to be recognised for her performance – great film and great book!
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I found the book a lot less troubling that the film, perhaps because as you say the film was less subtle. I *literally* cried through the 2 hours of that film – possibly because I have a 6 year old son. I spent a good deal of the time trying to find alternate sources for some stand-in tissues, as mine ran out. It was most embarrassing when the lights came up.
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Yes I don’t remember the book having quite the same emotional effect on me – both versions of the story are excellent though.
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