Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
A relationship between a father and his son is a delicate one to portray on film; whether it is a great one or a bad one. They can be weaved into a beautiful story where the bond is so strong that it unfolds wonderfully on the screen or it can feel forced, cliched and falter at every point. Extremely Loud and Incredibly close falls onto the former, showing a brilliant relationship between Thomas Schell and his son Oscar.
Set in the backdrop of New York, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a bitter story where Oscar, our main protaginist has his world shattered when his best friend of a father is killed during the September 11th attacks. A year since the "worst day" Oscar finds a key hidden away in his fathers belongings with only the word "Black" written on it. This sparks Oscar on a journey to discover the lock to which this key opens and attempt to feel closer to his father. Along the way he meets a series of extraordinary characters who each have their own story to tell but is his quest taking farther away from his mother? Staring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and newcomer Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a beautiful love story about family and greif.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a completely emotional film. That being said, it is hard with this film to tell whether that is a bad thing or a good thing. True, there are tender poignant moments that pull on the heart strings bringing even the biggest hard nut to tears but at times, the movie feels more like an emtional blackmail than a painful story to tell. The constant hurt and depression within the film is difficult to swallow and instead of leaving in tears, hugging loved ones, the saddness seems forced upon you and you cant help feeling angry that you were bombarded with the emotion rather than lead down the story. Also, Extremely Loud is extremely long and points within the film drag unnecessary and it takes far too much time to get to key plot points making you feel tired, bored and exhausted.
However, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is still a good story and there are parts that give heart and soul to the story. The ending, without giving much away, gives a point to the whole story as it reveals so much and with such delicacy that it is powerful and worth the agonising two hour wait. Also, Thomas Horn, who plays young Oscar, deals with the heartache acting extremely well despite at points being near annoying. Oscar is an intruiguing character, boarderline Autistic, yet he has naivety, curiosity and anguish that you want to follow him along his journey. His adult counterparts are brilliant too and they all subtely deal with the death well despite the constant forced appearence of it throughout the film.
Overall, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a good film but it isn't great. Instead of a film that honors a fathers death, it feels like a pretentious story that relys too much on the traumatic events rather than letting Oscar take his journey. Extremely Loud will make you cry and it has something intruiging to hook you into the story. It could do with a healthy trim and it isn't worth seeing more than once. The film is touching yet irritating, it is extremeling long and incredibly sad.
3/5
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