Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

[The Rev]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477302/

"A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001."

Though technically a 2011 film, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close wasn't released widely in the US until January 20th 2012. It will inevitably polarize its audience, as most movies dealing with events like 9/11 do. I found it to be an excellent coming of age movie, and was impressed by the relative "nobody" actor they chose for the lead role. Some may recognize Thomas Horn, who played "Oskar," from his being a contestant on Jeopardy kids week. Tom Hanks appears in flashbacks as the boy's father, and well... He's Tom Hanks, so obviously he played his role well. Max Von Sydow played Oskar's mute grandfather, and also played his role well. Sandra Bullock as Oskar's mother was... Good. Not great, but good. I just don't think she's nearly as effective in dramatic roles as she wishes or thinks she is. Just sayin.

I don't feel like the use of 9/11 was inappropriate, as the movie was more about Oskar, a boy with borderline Asperger's disease (or other autism spectrum disorder), and his journey to make peace with his father's death. The movie's about healing after a tragedy. Give it a chance if you appreciate movies like this. I found myself crying at least a couple times throughout the movie. You may as well. And as a Caveat, if you are uncomfortable enough with watching a short clip of the towers falling, you might want to look away or not see the movie (which is kinda silly for a 5 second scene, but hey, to each their own), though to look away, in my opinion, takes away from the power of the scene, of what Oskar experienced, alone, that morning, and what it takes for him to make sense of it all.

If you like a good tear jerker, give this one a try. You might be surprised.

http://youtu.be/1d7jCmLwA6M

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I saw a trailer for this in the cinema last week. While the premise seemed interesting - searching for what the key unlocks - I've found that as I get older I can deal with child actors less and less. To top it off, the fact that they felt the need to include 9/11 pretty much put me off the idea. I've got nothing against 9/11, but they could have picked a different tragedy and had a completely different setting and the film could probably still make sense. With that said, since I haven't seen the film the last bit is mere speculation.

[The Rev]

Anyone else care to review this movie?

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I loved it personally. I too cried a couple of times, it was literally impossible not to if you are someone who shows any type of human emotion.

I actually know 2 people that died in 9/11 as I live in New Jersey, and I feel they used it very appropriately. No problems at all with the way they used it.

Just on overall really good movie.

[Rappy Veteran]

I loved it personally. I too cried a couple of times, it was literally impossible not to if you are someone who shows any type of human emotion.

I actually know 2 people that died in 9/11 as I live in New Jersey, and I feel they used it very appropriately. No problems at all with the way they used it.

Just on overall really good movie.

Yeah I watched this a few weeks ago and I cried at the end. I think it was an amazing movie and really moving.