Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2012)

Sandra Bullock and Thomas Horn in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2012)

Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, Max Von Sydow


For a movie with such a mouthful of a title, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has a decidedly simple premise: a scavenger hunt across New York City, with just a bit of emotional baggage attached to it.

Of course, everybody's aware by now that it's also a movie about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and how a mother and son deal with the loss of a family member -- a husband and a father -- inside their cold, complicated family dynamic. Thomas Horn's Oskar has always had trouble dealing with difficult or intense situations (I'm actually pretty sure his business card lists him as an amateur pacifist) and Sandra Bullock, in the little time she has on screen, performs beautifully as a mother just trying to reach out to her broken son.

But as heavy as that might seem, and as much as the leftover emotions from his father's death hound Oskar throughout the movie in one of the longest, most explicit extended metaphors I've ever seen, at its heart, the movie isn't about 9/11. It's about a boy's journey to independence. It is, at its heart, a coming of age story, in some senses, at least.

Thomas Horn plays Oskar Schell, a child who has some sort of mental disorder, possibly an anxiety disorder -- he mentions at one point that his parents have had him tested for Asperger's, but the tests were inconclusive -- who goes on a quest to figure out what his father's last wishes for him were. It's a beautifully constructed movie, because Oscar's search for the lock to fit his key seems simplistic at first. By the end of the movie (and actually by the middle, probably) it's clear that the quest he's on isn't just looking for something concrete.

The best part about this movie, I think, is the symbolism. It's a very symbolic movie across the board (probably stemming from the fact that it was a critically-acclaimed novel first) but it's not the type of symbolism that you have to sit there and think about. It's there, and if you're not paying attention at all, you won't notice it. But it's easy to pick up on if you try a little bit, and it's executed excellently, too, so that the simplicity doesn't detract from the film's quality.

Thomas Horn is an amateur actor, just like his Oskar is an amateur everything, and sometimes, you might look at him and think that there's something left to be desired. Occasionally, he does slip and I think you probably see some acting going on instead of being, but as a whole, his character is well-crafted. He's got the knack for the art, and there are moments in the film where he just breaks your heart. Our viewing party also agreed that he was super adorable, which just made us empathize more with him.

Some people might complain that the movie is manipulative, and tries to make you cry, but I don't think that's necessarily true. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is not The Descendants. It is not natural, it does not flow easily. But that, I think, is on purpose. It's not that it's necessarily choppy as much as it is segmented and organized to a t, precisely how Oskar views life. It jars you at the moments that Oskar himself is jarred, and I think that's wonderful. So sure, while at times it might seem overbearingly dramatic (there's one instance in particular that did seem a tiny bit forced) it's a well-structured movie, and Stephen Daldry's directing choices are made very clear.

There's more I could talk about, since I did love this movie so much -- Max Von Sydow's nameless character, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, or the use of color throughout the film to enhance certain points -- but I'm going to cut the review off for the moment, and say that this movie definitely deserves its Oscar nomination, and in my opinion, has a very good shot at winning it all.

Final Rating: 9.6/10
Notable Performance: Thomas Horn as Oskar Schell