Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Paramount)
Rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language.
Starring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Zoe Caldwell, John Goodman, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright.
Written by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Directed by Stephen Daldry.
GRADE: A
REVIEW:
9/11 is a wound that is healing, but definitely still hurts. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is one of a few films to tackle the touchy subject for those who still have vivid memories of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Thomas Horn plays Oskar Schell, a New York City boy with some sort of autism. His dad (Tom Hanks) is a jeweler who arranges for detective/scientific-like quests to inspire the boy's creative and unique ability to keep him occupied.
Then, 9/11 happens, and Oskar's dad is caught up in the middle of it. Oskar's mother (Sandra Bullock) tries to reach out to the boy after the tragedy, but is not able to connect with him like his father did. One day, Oskar finds a key in his dad's closet, and surmises that it is another quest for him to discover where the key fits. His only clue is the name "Brown" written on a small envelope in which the key was hidden. Oskar decides to look up everyone named Brown living in New York City and visit them.
Oskar strikes out with great conviction to find the key's owner, and first meets with a couple (Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright) named Brown going through a divorce. A little later, Oskar also finds an ally in an old man (Max von Sydow) who rents a room from his German grandmother who lives across the street.
As Oskar and the renter scour New York looking for all the Browns, they are usually greeted by sympathetic folks who are eager to help, but do not have the answer to the mystery of the key.
Later, Oskar discovers the truth about the renter and and reveals a few things about the day his father died to his mother. Oskar, his mother, most of NYC's Browns and the key's real owner eventually begin to heal from the wounds of 9/11 and other struggles.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is an excellent film with great performances by the young Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Voila Davis, Jeffrey Wright and Tom Hanks (albeit brief). The standout performance comes from von Sydow as the renter with his own quest for redemption.
The touching ending in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is worth the wait, and will help all whose lives were altered by the tragedy of 9/11 or other personal hardships. It's a film that helps anyone to believe in humanity.
