I have to admit that when I saw all the trailers for Room I thought that it looked like an extremely depressing film. However I heard such rave reviews about it that I had to watch it.

First thing that has to be said is that Room is by far the best-acted film this year. Brie Larson as the Joy, a woman who has been held captive for 7 years in a Room and had a son in that time, gives such a raw and unexpectedly brilliant performance (especially when you consider that she was previously known for comedy films such as 21 Jump Street).

Alongside her is 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay (even younger when he was making the film) as Joy’s son, Jack. Tremblay gives such a mature performance for a child actor, really drawing you in to caring for the character. Director Lenny Abrahamson did such a fantastic job to draw such a brilliant performance from a child actor, one that has to be considered as one of the best.

And it’s these acting performances that raise Room to being one of the best films of the year. It’s a real shame that it won’t have any chance at winning the best picture Oscar, because aside from Mad Max I’ve loved it more than any other film on the list. It brought me to tears at multiple points throughout, especially in the second half as instead of depressing, I found Room to be an incurably beautiful film, both uplift and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Room is an absolute must watch for any film lover, and deserves all the credit that it is receiving.

9/10