There’s a limited number of 9/11 movies floating about for the last few years, most notably Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center. And now, it might come as a surprise to some that another 9/11 movie is arriving on big screens.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close follows the story of a young boy called Oskar Schell who goes on a quest all over New York after finding a mysterious key in his late fathers bedroom. He hopes the key will unlock something that his father, who died in the World Trade Center atrocities, wanted him to find, and extend his time with his deceased dad.
Starring two Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, the entire movie really hangs on the young shoulders of Thomas Horn as Oskar. Hanks and Bullock don’t really break a sweat here, especially Hanks who can do this kind of thing in his sleep. But Horn is simply phenomenal in his big screen debut. His portrayal of a child that has some form of Asperger's is breath taking. There are a number of scenes where he blows everybody off the screen. We’ve had a number of great child stars of the years, including Hayley Joel Osment, but Thomas Horn is the best yet. It’s actually hard to believe that a young boy is capable of such an amazing performance.
The movie itself, while it deals primarily with the death of a father and subsequent surrounding relationships with parents, can leave you quite cold. The story itself should really bring on the tears, but it doesn’t. Neither does it leave you wanting more. Nor will it have you talking about it for weeks to come. And while there is a slight twist to it, alot of the movie will have you wondering in disbelief about a boy who visits hundreds of strangers.
It’s by no means rubbish and it moves quite quickly, but the performance of Horn is actually too good for something like this. The movie that surrounds him lets him down and in turn, it’s incredibly tough to connect to it. And while the closing minutes may bring some warmth to your heart, its too little too late.
