Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Thomas Horn is Oskar, a 9 year-old boy who was once tested for Asperger’s but the results were ‘inconclusive’. There is no doubt, however, that he is socially awkward. Oskar’s jeweller father (Tom Hanks) always seems to have time for his son and the two play all sorts of brain-teasing games and such (ranging from oxymoron sparring sessions to amateur sleuthing expeditions). His father ‘gets’ him, trying to give him the stimulation and attention he needs. When Oskar’s father dies in one of the 9/11/01 attacks on the Twin Towers, the boy is devastated, as is his mother (Sandra Bullock). About a year later, Oskar accidentally happens upon a key amongst some of his father’s things. The key was in an envelope with ‘Black’ written on the front of it. Being a bright boy, Oskar assumes that because the word begins with a capital, it must be a name. Certain that this is yet another of his late father’s tests laid out for him, Oskar decides to embark on a journey of New York to visit all the people with the last name Black, and hopefully find the lock that the key belongs to (He does not inform his grief-paralysed mother of this expedition, by the way). Not easy when you’re extremely shy and awkward around people. At one point, Oskar (who carries a heavy and unnecessary burden only revealed at the climax) is joined by the mute old man (82 year-old Max von Sydow) who is renting a room in his grandmother’s apartment. But who is he? John Goodman plays the affable doorman to the building where Oskar lives, Viola Davis plays one of the (forgive the pun) Blacks, whom Oskar happens upon at a really crappy time in her life. Jeffrey Wright plays Davis’ ex, and Zoe Caldwell rounds out the cast as Oskar’s grandmother.

 

This well-intentioned, watchable adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel by director Stephen Daldry (“The Hours”, “The Reader”) and writer Eric Roth (Oscar winner for “Forrest Gump”) doesn’t quite come off. It nearly gets there, though, as there’s a terrific story in here somewhere about a borderline Asperger’s suffering child (an excellent Thomas Horn, in a difficult, and deliberately not always ingratiating performance) dealing with grief and the loss of his beloved father in one of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. That’s an interesting and unique idea for a film. It’s just a shame that the film chooses to tell this potentially moving and fascinating story in a way that is quite implausible, with young Horn being allowed to go out and about on this epic journey seemingly without his still-grieving mother (a thankless Sandra Bullock) giving much of a crap. The film tries to clear that up towards the end, but I still didn’t buy it. In fact, much like Horn himself, I kinda wished Bullock was the one who perished, so that Hanks (who is perfectly, if somewhat manipulatively, cast) could stick around to help his son through the grieving process, and you could still have the grand adventure plotline, except Max von Sydow’s character would be replaced by Hanks too. Veteran Swedish actor von Sydow is excellent in the mute role (not as easy as you’d think for an actor), but the character is a little underdone and unnecessary, if you ask me (Not to mention that you’ll figure out who he is long before the kid does). Still, it was about damn time von Sydow got nominated for another Oscar (the film itself was also somewhat controversially nominated for Best Picture), and this is hardly his worst film.

 

But look, this film isn’t such an offensive use of 9/11/01 as I was dreading. Yes, it ultimately doesn’t reach the heights it clearly wants to, but it’s not an unworkable concept. Daldry and Roth (or perhaps the author, I haven’t read the book) simply haven’t found the right way to tell it. Combining a very real tragedy with a somewhat fanciful narrative was always going to be a bit lumpy, but ultimately it’s just let down by the implausibility of a young 9 year-old boy with social awkwardness going on this journey and meeting so many people. The wheels almost completely fall off towards the end when Jeffrey Wright reappears. You’ll know what I mean when you see it, though Wright’s performance is one of his best-ever (The phenomenally overrated Viola Davis is quite nice, too).

 

I also felt that the film dealt with the Bullock character in a very manipulative way, and although I have no problem with manipulation if done right, it bugged me here. Bullock’s character ends up being somewhat short-changed and not for any particularly good reason. It tries to make a point of paying respect to the often thankless task of being a mother, but it doesn’t quite come off, like the film itself. Truth be told, the film also short-changes the von Sydow character at the end, too.

 

I enjoyed a lot of this film, and young Thomas Horn makes an excellent acting debut in a very difficult role. I mean, this kid was found by Daldry as a contestant on TV’s “Jeopardy” for cryin’ out loud! I just didn’t quite buy it at the end of the day, if that makes any sense. It’ll definitely have you talking, though, amidst a sea of films you’ll forget about almost instantaneously.

 

Rating: C+