Review: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

With any movie that has the events of the 9/11 tragedy as a focus it's guaranteed to be full of emotion and tears. While "Extremely.." has it's critics of this and it seemingly being a ploy to get an Oscar nod, it's not this that makes this film so disappointing. I had tipped it to be an Oscar success based upon it's merit of a strong story and excellent acting, but what lets this movie down in the central character of Oskar Shell (Thomas Horn). For anyone who spends their life writing scripts there is one key element- make your central character, the protagonist, likeable. You gotta be able to root for him. And where this film falters, is that in so many scenes, your sitting thinking "you little rude shit". Sure, his dad had died in the twin towers, but while everyone around him is feeling the pain, Oskar lives in his own world where he is the main one affected by the events. I'm aware that this was perhaps the characters way of dealing with the sudden immense pain thrust upon him, but this made him seem cold, harsh and almost spoilt. Whether this was down to the inexperience of Thomas Horn, or just the way the character was interpreted from the book, I don't think it quite came across as well as it should. Don't get me wrong, Horn does fantastic in one scene where he tells "The Renter" his story, with a lung bursting monologue full of emotion, but there just isn't enough of these.

Max Von Sydow on the other hand is a revelation. Playing the mute character of "The renter", he shows more emotion in just one look of his weary face, than Nic Cage does in any of his films from the last few years. Up for Best Supporting Oscar, he fully deserves the nomination. The support cast in "Extremely.." that consists of Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock are strong, and with Sydow, provide the best acting in this movie. Hanks doesn't need to do much except to just be Hanks, Bullock does really well in her small role as the grief-stricken mother dealing with the loss of her husband as well as trying to connect with her son. Overall, it's an enjoyable story but due to the coldness of the main character, you can't help but walk out the theatre thinking "why am I not walking out of here in tears?". To highlight this best, the character of Oskar hides the answer machine that has 6 messages from his dad on that fateful day. He never shows his mum who states that she misses his voice. This is never resolved by the end of the film, even though your sitting thinking "show your mum, show your mum!". For me, this was 6/10. Enjoyable story, let down by a harsh central character and inexperienced acting from the main lead, bolstered by a terrific performance from Max Von Sydow.