ROOM - film / by Stephanie Puls

This Oscars Best Picture nominee is so great!

The two leads, Brie Larson as Joy and Jacob Tremblay as Joy's 5 year old son Jack, are both excellent but full credit to young Tremblay who gives the best performance from a child actor I have ever seen. Truly, he's incredible.

Joy and Jack are trapped in a room and the circumstances behind this trapping, and indeed Jack's arrival in the world, become clear but I won't spoil them. Their captor Nick is a regular visitor, bringing supplies and unwanted attention.

Brie Larson won the Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes and I reckon she's a very good shot at the Best Actress Oscar too.

Room is gripping in exactly the right way. It shifts gears at exactly the right moments when you are starting to wonder how much longer situation X, Y or Z can last.

If you're thinking that a film about two people trapped in a room sounds a tad grim, you're right in a sense but don't underestimate the potential for this to end in an uplifting way.

A five star review here from The Guardian if you want to read more but warning - it contains far more on the plot than this blog post.

Trailer here. In cinemas now.