The reason I wanted to see this movie was very simple: I had read the book. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was my summer reading book going into my Senior Honors English class. As school does not begin for another few weeks, I have yet to figure out why my teacher decided to have us read this book. However, I do know that I liked reading it. It had a interesting plot and a different style to writing that I had not seen before. I also liked it far and beyond other books I have had to read for school.
But this is not a book review! After reading the book I borrowed the movie from my local library. I thought it was neat that a movie was made within the same year as when I would need to read this book. Going into it, there were two things about it that stood out for me. One was that Tom Hanks was in the movie, an actor that I adore greatly, and the other was that it was nominated for Best Picture. The second part was bittersweet because anyone I knew at the time of the film's release, who reviews movies online like I do, seemed to really hate that fact. They found it just "Oscar Bait" and could not believe the Academy took a bite. I am saddened by that because I believe if this film was not nominated for Best Picture and my friends saw the movie as a regular movie, they would have liked it more.
After the events of 9/11, a young boy named Oskar Schell is dealing with the loss of his father. Upon entering the closet of his dad's bedroom for the first time, he finds a key with the name "Black" on it. As his father used to provide little games and searches for his to participate in order to teach him life lessons, Oskar sees this as his final game and decides to go around New York City to anyone named Black and see if he can find his father's final message. Through this, he meets a variety of people and a man who does not speak, who may or may not have a strong connection to him.
I found this to be a good film, but a weird book adaptation. Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar, was pretty well-fit for the role. He was what I imagined Oskar to be when I read the book. Sandra Bullock plays his mother sweetly and his role in the story develops stronger as the film goes on. Tom Hanks does a great job as Oskar's dad, but unfortunately because of his character, he does not get that much screen time. However, by far the best part of the movie for me was Max von Sydow as the man who does not speak. He was exactly what the book described and gave a powerhouse performance even when he does not say one word.
The plot was good, yet after reading the book, I think it could have been developed much better, which is surprising as Eric Roth, who wrote Forrst Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wrote the screenplay. There are things we see of Oskar that are well-fleshed out in the book, yet are only mentioned and shown in passing in the movie. The biggest disappointment for me was how the man who does not speak's backstory, which is my favorite part of the book and pretty much half of the book, was barely mentioned in this movie. That could have been a great movie on its own!
However, when not comparing it to the book, I find this as a fine stand-alone movie. The plot works, it isn't too quick for most of the time and it was never slow. I found myself caring for Oskar's journey (though, again, not quite as much as the book did) and the ending was fine for the movie. All the people he meets are very interesting and likable and I don't think I would have predicted the ending had I not read the book. Max von Sydow definitely deserved an Oscar nod for his performance, but for the movie to be nominated for Best Picture? I feel as though if the movie followed the book more it would have been great and The Artist would have had some serious competition, but as is, it's a good movie. I am glad I saw it and if someone asked me "Should I watch this movie?" I would say yes-but I would also say you also should read the book.
Grade: B
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