I dragged my husband to the movies this weekend. He's an action movie kind of guy. Rambo, Die Hard, James Bond . . . yeah, that kind. I actually enjoy those types of movies, too, but I'm a girl, and I also like movies that make me feel something other than the urge to hit someone. So, I asked my husband to take me to see "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" - - and I didn't really have to drag him like I said above - he came willingly, even though he knew that it wasn't his kind of movie. (And that's one of the reasons why I love him.) (And, I only had to wake him up once.)
Living on the west coast - - I saw the events of September 11, 2001 unfold on the television, like most of the rest of the country. I felt horror and shock and extreme sadness as I watched my TV. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close gave me another perspective - that of an emotional young boy who lost his father and is trying to make sense of things. Extremely Loud isn't about the day . . . it's about Oskar, the boy, and Oskar's journey to feel close to his father. Oskar is an incredible character - as he put it, they "tested me for Aspergers but it was inconclusive." There is so much going on inside Oskar. So many complex feelings and emotions. The actor who plays Oskar is amazing, by the way.
Oskar finds a key in his father's closet and, thinking it will bring him closer to his father, devises an intricate plan to find the lock that the key belongs to. He travels all over the five boroughs and meets an eclectic variety of people in his search. The whole time that he was walking all over New York - on his own - I wondered how his mother (Sandra Bullock) could allow him to do that . . . walk miles and miles alone (mostly alone, that is - - the Renter joined him for part of his journey). To my surprise, though, most of the people he encountered were so incredibly kind to him. And I found out towards the end of the movie how his mother could allow him to go on his search alone.
I'm not good enough with words to be able to convey how this movie made me feel. Suffice it to say that I loved it. I will see it again. It did what I wanted it to do - - it made me feel. And it made me cry. AND, I loved the ending. (Three things I love about seeing a movie!)
I highly highly highly recommend this movie!
P.S. I thought of Daryl throughout this movie - - I know I saw some of her photo subjects!!
I like action movies, too. A good tear-jerker is also on my list of favs. I'm so looking forward to seeing this movie.
ReplyDeleteI want to see this Movie and I'm not sure the DH has time to go. Need to round up some girls maybe... Thanks for the Review. I want to see "Courageous" too, it's out on DVD now. "We Bought a Zoo" did all those same things to me, feel, cry and a good ending, even though I saw that ending coming...
ReplyDeleteand I was hoping this movie was good .. and now I know it is .. NYC always gets a bad rap but honestly there are more good, nice, helpful natives here and we really do outnumber the axe murderers
ReplyDeleteI read this book several years ago and have been somewhat leery of seeing the movie - it was such an intense, internal sort of book. But I keep seeing such good reviews, like yours, and now I think I may have to see it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know it was a book . . . I may have to read it now.
ReplyDeleteYou'll definitely have to read the book.
DeleteI second this motion--read and loved the book and was unsure how a movie could do it justice, but I've heard nothing but great things about it so I'm willing to give it a shot.
DeleteI love movie reviews. If someone says a movie is bad, that may or may not be the case. But if someone says, this is a great movie, it always turns out to be. We'll put this one on the list.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to the neighbor's after school to see a recap on TV of what had happened. I was around six, and it was honestly a little too much for me to understand. I might see this movie some time..it has Sandra Bullock in it plus your good review..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. Pat and I were wondering about the movie. It looks good, but you can't really tell by the trailers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. I, too, read the book awhile back but was hesitating about seeing it. I think I want to go by myself though. That's kinda nice.
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