Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Directed by: Stephen Daldry

Starring: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow

Rating: I Loved It

It's hard to believe that it's been more than ten years since 9/11 happened.  This movie brought it all back quickly.  Seeing those images again that played over and over that day affected me like I wouldn't have expected.  As much of a part those events play in this film, that's not what it's about at all.

EL&IC is about a child's search for a way to deal with his father's passing.  You share in his search every step of the way.  It's the best adventure I've been on in a long time.  You meet people from all over New York, and you connect with them the same way Oskar does.  You also connect with Oskar and his quirks.

The Good:

• Bullock, Hanks, von Sydow and Jeffery Wright - with only a small part - give excellent performances as you would expect.  The star of the show is Horn, though.   This is the only acting he's ever done!  It was spectacular!  Forget Haley Joel Osment.  He had been acting in smaller film roles and on TV for years before we saw him in The Sixth Sense.  IMDB doesn't have one, single other acting job listed for Horn.  
• The story captures you in many different ways, but it does capture you entirely.  I had no idea that I had been sitting there for over two hours when the movie wrapped up the final scene.  
• The thought that was put in to the way the story comes together was amazing.  
• Though the humor is sparse and the laughs few, the ones that are there occur just in the right places.  
• The thought process Oskar goes through to get his ideas together was priceless.  
• I liked the lack of focus that was put on the events of "the worst day" aside from what was needed.  
• The way that it takes Oskar so long (as it does a lot of people) to realize how much alike he and someone close to him are.  

The Bad: 

• I'm sure on a second or third watch through I'll pick up on some things, but all I could think the first time through was how excellent the movie was.  

The Ugly: 

• I doubt that even on watch through seven or eight I'll come up with anything to put here.  

If you're only going to go and see one movie of this type this year, I highly recommend this one.  This should be your drama for the year.  Not only does it make you reflect on something you probably avoid focusing on any other time, it makes you reflect on the way you view life...and death.  Sometimes, the things we try most to forget are the ones that direct us to where we are in life.  I'm sure there are some people who think that a movie should'nt be based around such a tragic event, but whose memory are we doing any good by forgetting?