Sunday, April 28, 2013

Film - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

I was surprised by Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  Though predictably sentimental, the persistence of a young boy who is probably on the autism spectrum (Thomas Horn) in trying to make sense of what happened to his father on 9/11, made for a touching story with a sense of adventure and imaginative characters.  I would have liked more time spent developing the people he meets on his journey instead of collapsing them into montage, but there are two good scenes with Viola Davis one with Jeffrey Wright, and a lovely relationship developed with Max von Sydow, who never speaks a word.  Zoe Caldwell really disappears into her performance as the boy's grandmother, I must admit that I didn't even recognize her.  As Sheila pointed out to me, the fact that a 12-year-old carries this feature length film is pretty impressive.

1 comment:

Sheila O'Malley said...

Yes, that kid was amazing. And Sandra Bullock has one moment of crying - where her face has frozen into a tear-less Greek Tragedy Mask - and I just thought that was fantastic (and accurate) acting. The movie really annoyed me on other levels - but yes, that Viola Davis scene was great. And the Jeffrey Wright scene I had forgotten!!