Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (starring Thomas Horn)

I don’t remember how we acquired the DVD of ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’. It has been in our to-watch drawer for many months, perhaps a year or more. I had read some mixed reviews, and the premise, somehow, didn’t seem all that appealing.

However, we recently decided to watch it… and were captivated from the start. It’s a sad, tense opening as we meet young pre-teen Oskar (Thomas Horn) grieving the loss of his father. We soon learn that he died in the Twin Towers attack in September 2001. Oskar is a highly sensitive child, evidently on the autistic spectrum although, as he tells someone later, tests for Asperger’s Syndrome were inconclusive. He struggles to deal with loud noises and finds it difficult to understand strong emotion.

The early part of the film is confusing chronologically; we see Oskar’s memories with his father (Tom Hanks), interspersed with the day everything changed, and his day-to-day life. His father and he do ‘quests’ or ‘challenges’ together, often based on unlikely stories, but giving Oskar a chance to communicate with strangers.

Oskar and his mother (Sandra Bullock) have a difficult relationship, made all the worse by their bereavement, and their reluctance to talk about it. But, a year after what Oskar calls ‘The Worst Day’, he goes into his father’s closet - unchanged, in a year - and by chance discovers a key. This leads him to what he believes is another vital ‘quest’, one that he hopes might help him make sense of what happened.

Much of the film is taken up with Oskar’s travels and interviews, which he records in detail in a scrapbook. It’s the story not just of the quest but of Oskar’s own growth in confidence, and his relationships with several other people, particularly family members. It’s beautifully done.

Despite a cast featuring famous names, young Thomas Horn is the real star of this film. We wondered why he was not better known. Apparently he had never acted before, and was chosen after a stunning performance on a TV quiz show. He is a natural for this role, showing emotion and fear in his expressions, and with excellent timing. His rapport with other characters is excellent, particularly with ‘The Renter’ (Max von Sydow) whose real relationship with Oskar is immediately apparent to the viewer.

Despite an unusual and essentially tragic plot, the film is mesmerising. The pace is perfect. The viewer sees Oskar’s confusion and need for some kind of closure, rooting for him to find it. The ending is perhaps a tad sudden, but I’m not sure how else it could have been done.

The rating is 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the US. I was a little surprised at this; there are no intimate or nude scenes, no overt violence, and bad language is only hinted at. I assume the rating is due to the overall emotion and the traumatic content of the start of the film, and I certainly wouldn’t want an over-sensitive child to see it. But I would have expected the censors to rate it PG.

The only ‘extra’, other than language options, is one about finding Oskar. It has brief interviews with the director and some of the other actors, explaining how they worked with him as he knew nothing about films or acting beforehand.

Very highly recommended.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's DVD Reviews

Cheaper by the Dozen (starring Steve Martin)

I don’t remember where or even when we acquired this film. Perhaps it was at a charity shop, or a bazaar of some kind. Instead of going into our ‘not-yet-watched’ drawer of DVDs, it was put away with our main collection of DVDs. I’d forgotten it was there until, wanting something light (and not too long) to watch last night, I spotted it.

Steve Martin stars as Tom, the father of twelve children, aged twenty-three down to twins of about four years old. They live a boisterous, rather crowded lifestyle in a small town in Indiana, where they mostly get along well. Kate, the mother (Bonnie Hunt) has been writing a book about the family, and hopes to get it published.

Then, out of the blue, Tom is offered his dream job as an American football coach… in Illinois. None of the family want to move, but after much discussion, Kate decides to support him in this. He will be earning far more, and they’ll have a huge house and plenty of money; they’ll also be closer to their oldest daughter Norah, who lives with her boyfriend not far from their new house.

The plot revolves around their adjustments - or not - and their interactions with new neighbours, and school staff; there’s an underlying message about the importance of family life and interests, and the stresses that can be caused by high-profile jobs, even if they do earn a lot of money. There’s some humour; mostly of a slapstick nature, but very well choreographed and executed; it’s the kind of thing Steve Martin does exceptionally well.

I was most impressed, however, by the children. A day later I don’t remember all of them, nor the names of the four-year-old twins. But Mark (Forest Landis), the geeky, outsider of the family who is passionate about frogs, stands out as an exceptional actor; he can’t have been more than about eight or nine. The other child star was Sarah (Alyson Stoner), third of the girls. She is precocious, with excellent comic timing, and wonderful expressions. She’s the brains behind some of the children’s organised - and not-so-organised - ventures and tricks, and yet comes across as delightful too.

There are quite a few deleted scenes and ‘making of’ episodes, which we watched afterwards; they were well done too, and added to the interest. Moreover, I was surprised to learn that in parts of the United States a bouncy castle is known as a ‘moon bounce’.

I gather there was a 1950s film of the same name, based on the story of a real family with twelve children. This one, I’m told, doesn’t bear much resemblance to it. It’s not just that the situations and lifestyles are updated by fifty years; even the names are changed, and the only thing in common is a large family who move house. However, since I haven’t read the original book nor seen the earlier film, I have nothing to compare this negatively too - and enjoyed it very much.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's DVD Reviews