"Room" and The Case for Jacob Tremblay
Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 8:00PM Kieran, here with a second look at SAG nominee Jacob Tremblay's work in Room.
My antennae were attuned for several things this past weekend while watching Lenny Abrahamson’s Room for the second time. I’ll say up front that searching for the power of Brie Larson’s accomplished, already heralded performance as Ma was not one of them. That was received on first watch and, frankly hadn’t faded from memory even a little. A rewatch only confirmed the potent emotionality of Larson’s work and it’s fortunate that work this exemplary is being so universally recognized as such—that isn’t always the case. Among other things, I was watching for Jacob Tremblay’s performance as Jack, Ma’s doting and mystified son.
Full disclosure: I often find praise heaped upon juvenile performances incredulous. Like many, I found myself fighting tears (and losing that fight) several times throughout my first viewing, most often during Tremblay’s scenes. The grimness of the initial scenario and the bond between Ma and Jack on the script level had my suspicions raised. Was Tremblay’s performance itself eliciting the emotional response or is it solely because of what’s already built into the architecture of the piece?
This was my question going into Room for the second time. [More...]
The second time through I was struck not by just how rich and accomplished the performance is, but how vital. It’s almost tempting to say that Tremblay is even more important to the success of the film than Larson. What she’s doing, the unease she’s conveying in her other relationships both in and outside of the room environment simply wouldn't resonate half as well if you took away the juxtaposition with Jack. This is thanks to Tremblay’s steady, anchoring performance.
Yes, Tremblay is helped tremendously by the filmmaking and the script. The decision to tell the story largely through Jack’s relatively new eyes is a smart one that enhances nearly every emotional beat. This is especially evident when we return to room and see for the first time how objectively and oppressively small it was compared to what Jacob was experiencing.
How much of this can be credited to Abrahamson’s direction is a question that certainly many who are skeptical of the skill of child actors will raise. On closer inspection, Tremblay has an inherent ease and shrewdness about when to lean into sentimentality and when to avoid it.
Going through historical roster of acclaimed child performances, I found myself racking my brain trying to think of which one most reminded me of Tremblay’s work and I drew a blank. Despite my stated bias, there are a few that I do think are genuinely accomplished (Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer, for example). But, Tremblay’s work here is singular. In terms of readability even in quiet moments, the performance it most calls to mind is actually Catherine Keener’s work in Capote. They’re operating at totally different registers. But, like Keener, I felt I was watching such an incredibly emotive, readable face that was able to convey more than what was on the page.
There’s a scene where Ma loses her cool with Jack and drags him into her mother’s living room, forcefully urging him to play with his new toys. Rather than opting for showy crying or displaying outward fear at Ma’s impatience (which would have been a totally valid if expected choice), you watch Jack in that moment decide not to say something. Watching a character think and make decisions without dialogue can be fascinating with the right actor, as in the case of Tremblay who does so with such naturalism and grace. There are actors much older than Tremblay, with many more decades of experience under their belts who have yet to master this. It’s also the kind of internal psychology for which male actors so rarely receive praise. Male actors in the Oscar race tend to get praised for gruff, earnest masculinity (Leonardo Dicaprio), mimicry (Michael Fassbender) or both (Johnny Depp).
Should Brie Larson go on to win the Oscar for her performance in Room, she’ll be in the top-tier, qualitatively of Best Actress winners. She’s incredible, yet I’m surprised to report that it’s Tremblay who is the true MVP of Room and I’m predicting (and hoping for) a surprise nomination in Best Actor, not Supporting Actor where he’s being campaigned. Ma is a strong character, certainly. But, as even she admits, she got her strong from Jack.
Related: Best Actor and Supporting Chart. All articles on Room
Reader Comments (17)
He needs to pull a Quvenzhané.
Though I feel like the Brie Larson hype needs to be brought down just a notch.
She's good, even very good, but not 'top-tier' of anything good. Though admittedly, a couple of tiny cliched moments aside, the performance's weakpoints aren't really her fault so much as the script's, which (infuriatingly) forgets about her during the transition period and so the character's throughline ends up with several dubious gaps
goran: Yeah, it's not a bad performance, but her Short Term 12 performance is far above this one.
I really liked Tremblay. It's a really surprising child performance.
However, I don't understand the excitement over Larson's performance. She's good, but I can think of at least 7 or 8 other actresses who outdid her this year. Plus, I don't think "Room" allows Larson to explore anything beyond a narrow emotional range. She's moving, but I don't see a full-fledged, complex performance that rivals "top-tier" work.
Tremblay who is the true MVP of Room and I’m predicting (and hoping for) a surprise nomination in Best Actor, not Supporting Actor where he’s being campaigned.
History says no. Little girls can take up real estate and beat their adult competition because Hollywood and the Academy are patriarchal institutions.
The source material had the same problem and it seems like such an obvious one I'm surprised the writer didn't have anyone close to the project (of the book writing and then the screenplay) to point it out to her: as much as it's the boy's point of view, the second half needed more care and detail in creating Ma's transition. SPOILERS The suicide attempt could be justified, but as it was written, it really seemed like a plot device other than a logical thing the character would do END OF SPOILERS. The same can be said about the underdeveloped relationships between Ma and her parents. The writing here is at its worst. I believe people who truly love this book or movie are really in awe of the premise itself and those problems fade to the background. I was frustrated with it because I value verossimilitude above all in a project like this.
Oh, I realized I never said what I wanted to say about the boy. I do think the role and how complex this character would be in reality is simplified a bit too much by the writing and the direction, which benefits the performance. It's a very reactionary role, but for more nuance in a similar scenario look no further than the kid in Beasts of No Nation. Tremblay delivered on the beats he needed to hit and did so with grace, but there is no real creation of layers and dimensions based on choices the child-actor himself made and the understanding of the character and what it would be REALLY like to be this kid seems a little thin.
Hm. The only reason I can see him pooooossibly getting a nomination is Lead Actor is the love for Room, and the weak Best Actor field. For that reason, I can't just laugh the idea off. It's somewhat plausible, and would be really cool.
Did you even watch Steve Jobs? That wasn't mimicry in the slightest.
lol no one watched Steve Jobs
Really wish people would stop trying to make that domestically violent piece of shit Fassbender happen
Goran, my thoughts exactly. All of the elements are here for a great film - especially camera work and design (so many times the word Fincher came to mind), and it pulls on all the appropriate emotional strings. But it could have been a lot tighter film, and I have to wonder if that's direction or the indulgences of a novelist adapting her own material. A good movie overall with great performances, but not one of the year's best.
I have been tiptoeing through this thread because I still haven't seen the film. But Brie has been so fantastic the last several years in so many things that I will be shocked if she's not incredible in this film. This girl is a major talent. Just sayin.
I was struck not by just how rich and accomplished the performance is, but how vital. It’s almost tempting to say that Tremblay is even more important to the success of the film than Larson.
This is another excellent article on The Film Experience and it's something I've needed for a while. I recognized Jacob Tremblay's eye-opening talents when I saw Room back in October and noticed that he really did give the best performance in Room. It reminds me of The Silence of the Lambs where the two leads play off of each other and elevate each other to make one of the best movies of the decade.
I've seen Room just once, but I can't shake the feeling that it's the best movie of the year. Even better than Spotlight, which is an almost flawless movie. This article makes me so happy that I'm not the only one who loved Brie Larson's performance, but Tremblay's turn even more.
I think I'm more impressed about his transformation because he really seemed mannered and irritating to me. Then he slowly settles down and his performance relaxes. He was introspective and intelligent when he finally finds his way in the real world. For me Brie Larson is the first half of the movie and Tremblay is the second half of the movie. However, I agree with some comments that this movie COULD be good, but just missed the mark to be one of the best of the year. Cinematically, this is only slightly better than Spotlight (which is even more dull, aiming for a documentary approach but with a tighter script) and I think the score is too emotionally manipulative.
"Was Tremblay’s performance itself eliciting the emotional response or is it solely because of what’s already built in to the architecture of the piece?"
I'll argue the latter. I read the book this Spring and was really floored by the way it depicted a child's psyche, especially when his world is up-ended so thoroughly. I'm afraid to say that the movie really let me down in that regard, as I found that it gradually transitioned from Jack's perspective of Room to Joy's perspective outside of the world. In the book (spoiler alert?), Jack is devastated by the maturing he is forced to undergo when he leaves Room, must stop breastfeeding, must interact with strangers, and then, ultimately, go without his mother for a time when she has a nervous breakdown. Other than Tremblay asking to return to Room and have things be "normal" (for him) again, you really don't get that in the movie. I won't blame Tremblay for the changes made from page to screen, but he certainly didn't compensate for them. He was capable, but hardly added something to what was already in the script, at least to my eyes.
This is already a pick for one of my favorite films of the year with Brie Larson already a lock for Best Actress from the films I've seen so far. Tremblay deserves some recognition as well. Especially for how he was able to get his character to progress from being this sheltered child that doesn't know anything about what is outside of the room into someone that would become a child that manages to find himself.
****SPOILERS****
One of the little moments I love is where he is with his grandmother as they come home from the grocery where they wave to a neighbor as it cuts to them making cupcakes. It doesn't just show Jack starting to become more of a normal child but also getting ready for a new phase in his life where he would let his grandmother cut his hair but keep the long hair for his mother who is still traumatized by what has happened to her. I just love these little moments in the film that makes it more special.
Good post. In an interview Lenny Abrahamson said he was amazed by Tremblay's talent as an actor calling him a prodigy. He said he would give him a simple direction, but Tremblay would go much further with it without being prompted.
Brie Larson was excellent in it. But the two performances in a sense make a whole. They're totally entwined. And she has repeatedly acknowledged that.