My Oscar Journey!

Day 110: “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Known as one of last years mixed reviewed Best Picture nominees, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” tells the story of a young boy named Oskar Schell (played by Thomas Horn) who’s father (played by Tom Hanks) has been killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11. A year later, Oskar finds a key in a vase in his father’s closet with the name “Black” on it leading him to believe that this is a quest that his father is sending him on to find who the key belongs to. So Oskar sets off on a journey in New York City to see what the key opens. The main problem I had with this film was the main character. Because they make the very clear decision to NOT diagnose Oskar with Asberger’s disease, he comes off as very annoying and selfish with many of his actions towards the people around him. I spent a lot of the film feeling sorry for his mother (played very nicely by Sandra Bullock) instead of rooting for the boy to find what he was looking for. I think we as an audience would have understood his behavior and his motives honestly if he had some sort of mental disorder. It went beyond a young boy grieving the death of his father into a very precocious, annoying place which may have been Mr. Horn’s fault in his portrayal of Oskar. One thing I did love about this film were a couple of the performances from the adults. Sandra Bullock does some of her best work here, and Viola Davis and Jefferey Wright do nice work as always. However, Max von Sydow (Best Supporting Actor Nomination) steals the show as the mysterious renter that is living with Oskar’s grandmother. This film is worth seeing for his touching, wordless performance.