Room

It is so exciting when I see a story I haven't seen before. Room is that gem.

The story of a kidnapped young woman, raising her son in a garden-shed-turned-prison-cell, Room is a surprising mix of gentleness, pain, truth and the power of perseverance and point of view. The themes are rich and Room says a lot without being too obvious about any of it. This is my favorite writing so far this year.

This story is about the relationship between mother and son. The kidnapper is a mere obstacle to be overcome. I appreciate that we don't spend a lot of time in the movie focusing on the main character as a victim. She is simply a mother, doing her best.

The movie works for me just as a metaphor for motherhood. A new child becomes your whole world, effectively cutting you off from everyone you know, including your former self. In the process you learn things about yourself and you grow and change and there is no going back. It's when you try to reintroduce yourself to the world that things get dicey, for some moms, anyway.

And that is what we see happen to Brie Larson's character. Her release from the confines of the room doesn't produce immediately positive results. She still has to journey a bit farther to come to terms with herself and how she fits into the world as this new person.

It was at times incredibly hard to watch but ultimately a very moving piece of cinema that has kept me thinking about it beyond the credits!