Film Review: ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’

Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn in 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'
Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn in 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' - Photo © Warner Bros Pictures

“After he died, I found this key in my father’s closet. How do I find the lock that it fits?,” asks nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), struggling to make sense of the horrors of the events on 9/11 when his father (Tom Hanks) died in the World Trade Center in the dramatic film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Convinced that his late father has left him a final message hidden somewhere in New York City, Oskar develops a very elaborate system with the few clues he has to set out every weekend in search of a lock that will fit the mysterious key. Driven by a relentless, active mind and an overwhelming fear of losing what little connection he has left with his father, Oskar searches the five boroughs, meeting many different people and overcoming many of his stifling fears, such as riding on the subway or being able to deal with loud noises, all the while hoping to find one last connection with his hero, his teacher, his father.

Painfully sentimental and manipulative, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a melodrama that uses the tragic events of September 11, 2001 as a backdrop and driving force for one child’s journey through life and the understanding of it.

The film has top-notch performances by Sandra Bullock as Oskar’s devastated mother who can barely get out of bed and function after the loss of her soul mate, and by Max Von Sydow as the mysterious, silent tenant of Oskar’s grandmother who eventually befriends Oskar and begins to go with him on his quest for the key’s lock. Hands down, the best performance in the film is by newcomer Thomas Horn as the odd, determined Oskar who uses the search for the lock to the key to try to make sense of the tragedy of 9/11 and to avoid experiencing and dealing with his overwhelming grief of losing his father. His performance is truly mesmerizing.

The film suffers, however, by being extremely heavy-handed and exploitative with all the flashback scenes of September 11, 2001, with Oskar picturing his father and others falling from the World Trade Center as well as the repetitive scenes of Oskar’s home phone ringing and only being picked up by the answering machine to have his father leave message after message trying to get a hold of his son to tell him he loves him one last time.

If this movie were based on a true story, the scenes would hold more pure emotional impact. Since it’s not, they come off as forced, uncomfortable melodrama that only exist to help the filmmakers campaign to try and obtain Oscar consideration.

Uneven and depressing, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a film that tries to be about grief, forgiveness, friendship, love, and moving on with life, but gets trapped in its own trite and uninvolving storytelling.

GRADE: C

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close hits theaters in wide release on January 20, 2012 and is rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language.