Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, written by Emma Donoghue and based on her own bestselling book, tells the extraordinary story of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a spirited five-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted Ma (Brie Larson). Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical—the two are trapped in a windowless 10-by-10-foot space which Ma has euphemistically named “Room.” Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within Room, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack’s curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma’s resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world. Room also stars Academy Award nominees Joan Allen and William H. Macy. I sat down with director Lenny Abrahamson to discuss this breathtaking film.
Danny Miller: One of the many things I love about this film is how much you respect the intelligence of the audience and don’t burden us with too much exposition. We figure a lot of things out in context and I think that makes for a much richer moviegoing experience. Did you ever feel any pressure to “explain” more about what was happening with Ma and Jack?
Lenny Abrahamson: We did toy with that idea for the second half of the film. Because the first part of the movie is so much about the relationship between Jack and Ma and then, paradoxically, it seems like this relationship weakens just when you think everything in their lives is going to improve, we considered showing Ma having to testify at the trial of Old Nick and hearing more about what happened to her originally. But in the end we felt that since this was essentially a story told from the boy’s point of view, it seemed more powerful to create that same sense of claustrophobia in the second half of the film as we revealed their struggle to re-integrate into ordinary life. So we decided to keep the story very much centered on the grandmother’s house. My style as a filmmaker is generally to pare things away. I didn’t want to make anyone uneasy about the lack of information, but I like to give screen time to things that are emotionally rich rather than just informative.
I understand it psychologically, but it’s still shocking to see the problems the two of them have after they’re finally freed. It’s so sad to see this wonderful relationship begin to move in another direction.
That’s right — and that’s how you preserve the tension in the film. One of the challenges as a director in turning this book into a film is how do you put what, on the face of it, is the most dramatic sequence right in the middle of the movie and not have the second half just fall away? So the gamble we took is that by the end of the first part of the film, you will feel so connected to the relationship between this mother and her young son that seeing them being put under a different kind of pressure will be just as unnerving and compelling as the more obvious fears you had for them during the first half.
Jacob Trembay was just amazing in the role of Jack. I have a son who is exactly the same age as that character and I didn’t think there was a false note in that performance.
I have a son that age, too, so I knew how important it was to cast the right person in that role. Without that there was no film. Believe me, I spent many sleepless nights before we found Jacob who is such a remarkable boy with the engine of a very great actor. Part of the process of making this film was teaching him to get in touch with muscles he hadn’t really used before. By the time we filmed the scene where he cries when his mother is being taken away by the paramedics, those were real tears. After I said, “Cut,” he was jumping up and down with pure joy, screaming, “I got it! I got it!” It was amazing watching him grow as an actor. Finding Jake was crucial.
I’ve always thought Brie Larson was incredibly gifted, in films like Short Term 12 but even when she had very small parts in other films. It was a thrill to see her in such a role, I thought she was extraordinary.
I think the best decision I made in the entire process of making the film was casting Brie. There was a pretty long list of people we were looking at but I remember watching Brie in Short Term 12 and feeling that there was a kind of authenticity and groundedness in her performance that you just don’t see very often — a total believability.
And her chemistry with Jacob was spot on. I’m sure that was another concern you had going in.
Absolutely. There were so many ways in which the whole thing could have failed. And even though I knew Jacob was great in rehearsal, until you’re on set, you don’t really know how a little boy is going to react. I remember early on, there was a moment where Jack had to really lose his temper with Ma, in the scene where she tells him he has to eat his birthday cake. He has to really shout at her — I’m sure you know as a father how our kids can really go for it with all-out rage! We spent a lot of time trying to get him there and finally he whispered to me, “I don’t want to shout at Brie because she’s really nice!” You’re dealing with this person who’s a phenomenal actor but also a little boy and the lines between what’s acting and what’s real are a little blurred. So we brought the whole crew in and we had a shouting competition where we all yelled at each other as loud as we could. Jacob thought that was the best thing in the world! And then he was wonderful in the scene.
The rest of the cast is incredible, too. I’m from Chicago so I grew up with the Steppenwolf Theater and think that Joan Allen walks on water.
Oh, God, she is so fantastic. I felt totally blessed to have her in this film, I would be very happy if there were a role for her in every single thing that I do. I remember seeing her in The Ice Storm years ago and marveling at the delicacy of her performance. It was just extraordinary to be able to work with her on this.
I thought it was interesting that Emma Donoghue adapted her own very popular book. Did you work with her to make sure that the story worked from a cinematic point of view?
The whole process was very collaborative. It was the opposite of what people say will happen if you work with the original author of a book — she was never precious about her words and was always open to new ideas. I never felt any resistance from her or a sense of “Well, it’s my book!” It was really a great experience.
I love movies that go deep emotionally but this is obviously not a fun Date Night film where you can escape from reality. Does that make you worry at all about attracting audiences?
While I think the film is certainly intense and there are times when you think you can’t bear much more, I would argue that if you ask yourself what you come away with after seeing the film, you realize that it ultimately carries a very life-affirming and uplifting message. This is a journey out of darkness to the light.