A young woman has been held captive for years in a garden shed, where she has raised her 5-year-old son in complete confinement. The 11-by-11-foot space is the only world he knows. Then she engineers their escape into a world he has never seen. The film is about how a mother's love can build a whole reality for her child.
Room is a 2015 drama and thriller film directed by Lenny Abrahamson. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 cinematography and 2 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Being John Malkovich uses several of the same techniques.
Placing the camera where a character's eyes are, or shooting the scene the way that character experiences it. You see and feel things from inside their head.
How this film uses it
Jack narrates, and the camera often shows Room the way he sees it. To him, it is the whole world, so the space is filmed as wondrous and big enough. The horror of it is left for you to see.
Where to see it
Jack's opening voiceover, where he greets each object in Room by name. The camera moves through the space like it belongs to him, while you can already see that it is a prison.
Giving a film 2 very different tones, such as comedy and tragedy, often split into halves. Each makes the other hit harder, and the film never blends them into 1.
How this film uses it
The escape from Room comes at the film's midpoint, where you would expect it to be the climax. The second half then flips the first completely. The outside world becomes the frightening place, and the small room becomes a home Jack has lost.
Where to see it
Jack's first experience of open sky after the escape. The world is too large and too loud for him. You were desperate for him to get out, and freedom turns out to scare him more than captivity did.
Shrinking the space the characters have as the film goes on, from open places down to cramped hiding spots. The smaller their world gets, the more pressure you feel.
How this film uses it
Danny Cohen shoots inside a single 11 by 11 foot set built on a soundstage. The tight angles and low ceilings keep the room small, even though the walls could be removed for the crew. That makes the 11-foot room feel real and unbearable.
Where to see it
Joy and Jack sleeping in their single bed. The camera can't pull back because the wall is right there, so the tight frame shows you exactly how little space they have.
Having a narrator describe events in a plain, matter-of-fact way, sometimes without fully understanding them. You notice more than the narrator says, which creates irony and sympathy.
How this film uses it
Jack's narration passes every horror through what a 5-year-old can understand. He knows that Old Nick is bad, that Room is their world and that Ma is sometimes sad. He doesn't know why. You do, and that gap is pretty much unbearable.
Where to see it
Jack describing Old Nick's visits from inside the wardrobe. He reports things he doesn't fully understand in a matter-of-fact voice.
Questions
Room: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Room use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Room (2015): Subjective Camera, Tonal Bifurcation, Spatial Contraction and Innocent Eye Narration.
Who directed Room?
Lenny Abrahamson directed Room, released in 2015. CineCode also covers Frank (2014).
What films are similar to Room?
Films that share techniques with Room include Being John Malkovich (1999), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Forrest Gump (1994), Life is Beautiful (1997).
