EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE
RYAN: Director Stephen Daldry, the man who brought us Kate Winslet in The Reader, Nicole Kidman in The Hours and Billy Elliot, is now serving us this 9/11 weeper, thank you very much, Stephen.
CAROLINE: It’s based on a book I never read, and what a weeper indeed. It’s almost one of those movies you wonder if you can or should sit through, like United 93.
RYAN: It stars Tom Hanks, Sandy Bullock and Viloa Davis but all in supporting roles to this young’un Thomas Horn, who recently won best young actor at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, and I’m happy to say I voted for him. He’s Extremely good and Incredibly talented.
CAROLINE: Nice one. Honestly, his precociousness annoyed the crap out of me for the first hour of the movie, but then I had a total turn-around after this one incredibly well-edited scene. He’s quite amazing.
RYAN: He’s very natural for having very little prior experience and also going up against major movie stars.
CAROLINE: Honey, he’s got zero experience; they discovered after he was on Kids’ Week at Jeopardy, so he’s not even an actor at all. He really impressed me, especially given his background. I also loved Jeffrey Wright, who has a small role as Viola’s husband.
RYAN: He’s great. That’s one thing this director always gets right – the cast. And he handles intense emotion so deftly. We were both in NYC, working together, on 9/11, and we have our own memories which make revisiting it difficult. But the story in this film is truly engaging and beautiful.
CAROLINE: Watching a movie about 9/11 is never fun, and I cried during this one several times. I’m glad I saw it though; I always love Stephen Daldry’s films as a rule.
RYAN: The relationship between the boy and the old man is very interesting. And I liked the way the boy navigated the city and how you kind of put together what’s happening not only with him but with the people around him.
CAROLINE: It’s a very emotional movie. It really explores lots of different parts of NYC too. We always love a movie that’s based in NYC.
RYAN: And the city looks very real in this. It’s not shot to glamorize it the way, say, New Year’s Eve did.
CAROLINE: Please, I didn’t even see that movie and I know there’s no comparison.
RYAN: I wish there had been more with Tom Hanks. He’s so good. And I was also impressed by Sandy B. She has some very difficult scenes and she looks good yet bad all at the same time in a very appropriate way.
CAROLINE: I know, right? She hasn’t looked this ugly in a movie in a while, but it worked for the role. And I loved Tom Hanks’s relationship with his son. Their scenes were so sweet, even though the boy is slightly Aspergery.
RYAN: It was a little slow moving at times but really when it all wrapped up, I found it very satisfying, like bittersweet satisfying.
CAROLINE: I’m with you. I was a little afraid to see this movie but I think it was a good thing. You just have to know what you’re getting into with the 9/11 stuff.
— BOTTOM LINE —
RYAN: You have to be in the mood for a sad film, but this one certainly has an uplifting message overall. And it’s a brilliantly articulated story with moving performances – definitely worth seeing for it’s awards-buzz.
CAROLINE: This movie was completely looked over by the Golden Globes, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the Oscar nominations, which are announced tomorrow BTW. It’s a very well made film, beautifully shot and scored, with great performances. It’s hard to recommend it without reservation because of the heavy topic, but if you’re inclined, you really should see it. You won’t be disappointed.
— RATING —
