EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud is a good film that could have been great. It tells the story of a 12 year old boy, Oscar, who's father perished in the twin towers on 9/11. He finds a key left behind by his dad and spends the movie looking for whatever it opens. He knows it belongs to a person named "Black" and methodically he visits everyone in the 5 boroughs, looking for answers. My problem with the film is the lead actor. I found the kid to be really irritating and it was difficult to watch. It was a great performance but because I didn't like the character, I was a little disconnected from the story... that aside, the movie is packed with great performances. Some very big players are all essentially reduced to support roles, lending weight to this 12 year old's story. Tom Hanks adds a sense of wonder and offers an uplift to an otherwise sombre subject. Sandra Bullock is solid as the mother having to deal with her grief as well as her son's and Max Von Sydow is quite amazing as an elderly neighbour who joins Oscar on his quest. Sydow never utters a single word and yet he manages to express so much depth and emotion... he deserved his oscar nomination. Other small roles include John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright and Viola Davis (all good). It's a shame about the personality of Oscar. His anguish and desperation just didn't resonate with me... I was intrigued by his search but was never too fussed about his conclusions. Finally, the film does manage to come together really well at the end. I came away more satisfied than I was expecting and was able to imagine just how amazing the movie would have been were I fully engaged with it.

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