By J.T. Johnson
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow, Zoe Caldwell, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, John Goodman
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a film that is referred to often as Oscar bait. Unfortunately, the film’s few positive notes will probably be overlooked due to the more negative aspects of the movie. Granted, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock do their usual best with performances that they can pull off in their sleep. The problem comes with the story itself and the performance by the young Thomas Horn as the 10-year-old Oskar Schell.
Oskar is a kid that used to go on imaginary treasure hunts set up by his dad, Thomas (Hanks), in a game called Reconnaissance Mission. Then came what Oskar refers to as the Worst Day. That day was 9/11 and Thomas was unfortunately in the World Trade Center for a meeting. A year later, Oskar finds a key in Thomas’ closet and decides to set out on a mission to discover the key’s origin.
The kid has nothing to go on except the name Black. Oskar sees it as an opportunity to remain close to his deceased father even though it seems to drive an even bigger wedge between Oskar and his grieving mother, Linda (Bullock). Along the way, Oskar will meet several people and even has help from a man known only as the Renter (Max von Sydow) while trying to make sense of the Worst Day and why his father was taken away from him.
Again, there are fantastic performances from both Hanks and Bullock. Hanks has already been established as the Jimmy Stewart of his generation and the father figure role fits him like a glove. Bullock also hits all of her emotional high points as the troubled mother, but she is barely touched upon and it is almost a wasted performance from a talented actress.
The true performance of the film actually comes from Sydow as the Renter. Due to a past tragedy, the Renter has chosen not to speak and therefore speaks to Oskar through his notepad and “Yes” and “No” markings on his hands. Sydow therefore has to do the difficult task of acting strictly through facial expressions and body language. He does this flawlessly and should the Academy be paying attention, Sydow is the one who should be acknowledged.
The worst performance unfortunately comes from Horn as Oskar. He does not have enough power to keep the audience interested. Also, the character himself is not all that desirable to watch. Oskar is a foul-mouthed kid who is scared of everything. He also talks so fast that the audience ends up with a headache rather than feeling the pain that Oskar is suffering.
Also, while the film successfully sets up the fact that Oskar is going to meet several different people through his mission, the audience never really gets to sit down and know any of them. They leave as about as quickly as they appear. The movie would have benefitted more by observing an interesting cast of characters rather than focusing on the terribly uninteresting Oskar.
Finally, the film is also a commentary of the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2011. The film will surely not be the last to comment on that tragic day when the towers fell, but it definitely does not provide a sense of understanding for those who remember the day the towers fell. In the film’s defense, though, there probably never will be a movie that can truly express what it was like on that day.
The movie runs at a brisk two hours, but the audience is so bored that it ends up feeling more like a three hour flick. Despite an attempt to give decent performances and an honest critique of 9/11, the film’s sub-standard story and an uninteresting lead make this a movie that can be missed.
PROS:
- Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock turn in good performances as always.
- Max von Sydow gives a powerful performance that should not be ignored by the Academy.
CONS:
- The film tries to provide a cathartic response to 9/11 but it ultimately fails.
- There is not enough time spent on what could have been an interesting cast of supporting characters.
- The running time of the film is only two hours, but the boring story makes it seem more like three hours.
- Thomas Horn is just not all that interesting as the young Oskar.
GRADE: D
