Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (DVD)

THE STORY

9 year-old Oskar Schell is devastated when his father Thomas (played by Tom Hanks) dies in the World Trade Centre building of 9/11.
Oskar goes into Thomas's room and discovers an envelope with the name Black written on it. The envelope contains a key.
Oskar decides to find the lock to the key and researches every person named Black in his area.
He visits each one to find out if the key will open anything belonging to them.
In the meantime, Oskar meets The Renter (played by Max Von Sydow) a mute man who rents a room in his grandmothers flat.
The Renter asks to help Oskar on his travels to find out the mystery of the key.
Does Oskar find the lock that fits the key? And Just what is The Renter's story?

THE CAST

Tom Hanks ... Thomas Schell

Thomas Horn ... Oskar Schell

Sandra Bullock ... Linda Schell

John Goodman ... Stan the Doorman

Max von Sydow ... The Renter

SPECIAL EFFECTS

The film doesnt really have special effects but does show actual footage of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and there are various photos of people jumping from the building.

MY THOUGHTS

This is an extremely emotional and poignant film about a young boys struggle to accept his fathers death.

Thomas Horn is a young, new and talented actor and really brings home how a child feels on the death of a loved one. His character clearly has psychological problems and Thomas plays this out with real intensity.

Tom Hanks (Big/Da Vinci Code) plays Oskar's father. I felt that Tom's acting was very similar to that of his character of Viktor in The Terminal. Quiet and refined. He doesnt have much screen time.

Sandra Bullock (Speed) plays Oskar's long suffering mum who attempts to understand Oskar's behavior whilst dealing with her own grief. She plays the role with feeling.

This is a really good film played out with sensitivity and realism of the horrors of the devastating effects of 9/11.
The actors played their roles really well and Thomas Horn did an excellent job playing Oskar.
It is quite long at over 2 hours but you really want to see what the key is for.
The ending is a little disappointing