Young Oskar Schell’s (Thomas Horn) father Thomas (Tom Hanks) died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. There are some details about his death Oskar doesn’t understand. Nine-years-old and possibly dealing with Asperger’s syndrome (the results were inconclusive), Oskar sees the world as littered with mysteries, each having its own answer. His father constantly played games with him, scattering various clues out in order for Oskar to use his great intelligence and curiosity to interact with more of society.
As memories of his father slowly fade, Oskar discovers one last string to unravel. Upon searching around his mother’s closet, Oskar comes across a key in a small envelope with the word “Black” written on it. Convinced this is a clue to solving something deeper, Oskar treks through New York City’s five boroughs to find the lock it fits, encountering strangers of all sorts and confronting his fears (public transportation, trains, planes, etc) along the way.
Based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel of the same name, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close sports the kind of premise that can easily make one squirm. Add Eric Roth, he of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as screenwriter, and it doesn’t take much to envision an awkwardly earnest, cloying mess that begs for pathos out of the most strained contrivances of humanity.
What a surprise then to find a warm, if nevertheless flawed, picture. Under the capable direction of Stephen Daldry (The Reader) and shot with incredible beauty by cinematographer Chris Menges (The Mission), Extremely flirts with falling apart from the word go. Hanks awe-shucks dad is simply drawn and impossibly glowing. His clues -intentional or not- that Oskar ponders are precocious and occasionally grating. Oskar’s first venture into finding the meaning of the “Black” key takes him to the home of Abby Black (the always splendid Viola Davis), a woman amidst a personal crisis of her own. He runs down his purpose for bothering her and acts a saint the whole time.
A whole movie of these scenes would be tiring. The addition of a mysterious man living alongside Oskar’s grandmother known simply as “The Renter” (Max von Sydow) only manages to set off more alarm bells. Did I mention how he refuses to talk and only communicates with his hands – which have yes and no tattooed on them – or via pen and pad.
Daldry shockingly arranges these beats into a concise, assuredly moving work. The more twee elements are never overdone, melted down by the superb cast. In his first performance, Horn is terrific as Oskar. With the help of Daldry, Horn holds back the big breakdowns and outbursts. Davis, Sydow, Jeffrey Wright and Sandra Bullock, whom plays Oskar’s mother, each bring their best.
It’s really all held together by Daldry though. He balances a tone that feels as if it might waddle into maudlin territory, but almost always keeps it at bay. He plays up Oskar’s curious nature without turning him into the standard cute moppet. Daldry and Roth skip over much of Oscar’s escapades, lumping them into concise montages, and instead focus on the boy’s frustrations with hitting deadends. The movie is Oskar's emotional journey, not a skip-around New York City with whacky hijinks.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens all across Seattle today.
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