'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' Movie Review

There hasn't been a motion picture that has been able to bring closure to the Holocaust and, let's be honest, it is doubtful there is going to be one for Sept. 11.

However, the tenderhearted 9/11 drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" demonstrates that enough time has passed that it is much more than possible to do the subject matter justice. It has earned Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow), but more important, it’s an emotionally staggering adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's heartbreaking novel of the same name that is absolutely unforgettable.

There are certainly big, capital letter themes here but it succeeds because it is not about 9/11 in a global sense. It’s a poignant coming of age tale from the perspective of an adolescent boy on a search for closure after his father's death on Sept. 11, 2001.

The central character is a highly precocious 11-year-old named Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn in an incredible film debut) and there are clear comparisons to Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's precocious narrator from "The Catcher in the Rye."

The incredibly bright Oskar has an undiagnosed mental health issue and there are strong hints he's a high-functioning autistic. In an attempt to bring him out of his shell, his father, Thomas, (Tom Hanks in perfect Everyman mode) sends him on quests around New York City to engage his imagination and to force him to interact with other people.

These fears become much more pronounced after 9/11. He reacts in terror to people screaming, old people, unattended bags and, especially, bridges. He has a hard time relating to the people around him. In particular, his mother, Linda, (Sandra Bullock in one of her best performances) has trouble getting through to him as each of them goes through the grief process.

Months later, he goes into his father’s closet for the first time since he died. In a vase on the upper shelf, Oskar finds an envelope with the word "Black" on it and a single key inside. In an attempt to hang onto the memories he has of his father, he sets out across New York's five boroughs to find all 472 people named Black in the book in an effort to grab onto one last piece of his dad.

The structure has the same basic foundation as "Hugo" in that both feature children searching for a message from a parent. The quest for the meaning of the object is a bit of a red herring, since Oskar's rite of passage and the resulting human interactions are the real point.

There is an almost epic scope to the film as he goes around meeting hundreds of strangers, and New York City becomes a character in and of itself. The sight of an adolescent child heading out on foot (he’s afraid of public transportation) in New York is disturbing in the age of "Law & Order," but he’s not completely alone.

The most important person he meets along his quest is "The Renter" (Max von Sydow in a magnificent silent performance), the mute tenant in his grandmother’s apartment; their scenes together are the best the film has to offer.

There are a couple of scenes that hit a lot of emotional buttons, particularly the moment that Oskar listens to the messages on the answering machine from his father on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and this becomes important later on. It’s a gut-churning moment as the camera lingers on his face as he processes the tragedy that is about to befall him.

The stunningly brilliant third act is emotional as all get-out, so be sure to bring the tissues. The secrets come tumbling out, but it is not depressing. In fact, as incredibly sad as the subject matter is, it is life-affirming and ultimately filled with hope.

This is delicate material to bring to the big screen since all the action occurs in the heart and mind of a precocious child. Much of the credit has to go to director Stephen Daldry for steering the film far from cheap sentiment and mechanical heartstring-tugging moments.

This is four-for-four for Daldry, after "Billy Elliott," "The Hours" and "The Reader" and he has a perfect record in the director's chair. He is astonishingly adept at handling emotional content that pierces the heart, and because he doesn't press the emotional buttons too hard in the beginning, the last half hour has a staggering emotional impact that punched me in the gut.

The ace in the hole is the preternaturally talented child actor Thomas Horn in his film debut. The entire film rests on his shoulders and against the odds, Horn grounds the character in a shattering performance that is rare for someone his age, much less a first-time actor.

There are a host of familiar names in the supporting roles, and Daldry gets compassionate performances from all the actors—John Goodman as the comic relief doorman, Zoe Caldwell as Oskar's grandmother and, most of all, Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright as crucial people he meets in his journey.

There are a lot of critics who really hate this film. That’s a real shame because as far as I’m concerned, it’s the best movie of the year.

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is a film that is going to stand the test of time and I can't praise it enough. It is one of the most heartfelt and humane films to come along in a long time, and it is not to be missed.