Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close will make you cry. It just will. Don’t fight it. It begins with a funeral for a 9/11 victim and centers entirely around the relationship between victim and his lone child, whom he loved very dearly. It’s sad just thinking about it.
Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) doesn’t understand the funeral. Put off by the fact that the coffin is empty (no remains were found, of course), he hangs out in the limo in his Tae Kwon Do outfit. Gotta hand it to the kid; I’d feel more comfortable in that get up at any funeral. Oskar is the driving force of this picture. Does he have Asperger’s? Even he admits the tests were inconclusive, but I’m guessing the kid who has a subway, bridge, bus, noise, people, and leprechaun phobia and yet has no trouble hiking to the Bronx from Mid-town has some issues.
In flashbacks, we see how close Oskar was to his father Thomas (Tom Hanks). Their relationship seems built on a constant quest for knowledge. And quest is the operative word, for when Oskar finally summons the courage to delve into his father’s closet a full year after the tragedy, he discovers a key attached to a name “Black.” To what? For whom? For what purpose? And *poof* a treasure hunt ensues, in essence no different than National Treasure or Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with people instead of glinting artifact. Armed with a phone book, a pair of legs and some odd accessories, Oskar sets out to find the person connected to the key. Along the way, Oskar acquires a partner, a deliberate mute simply known as The Renter (Max Von Sydow). This, again, is a pretty good gimmick; it’s so simple and yet check out how much we learn about both Oskar and the mysterious Renter from the fact that the latter doesn’t talk. I bet Max Von Sydow has been itchin’ for a part like this since Strange Brew.
If you don’t find it all manipulative and contrived, there’s a great deal to like about Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I found myself drawn mostly to non-conformity. The kid doesn’t want to be part of the funeral? Who does? He totes a tambourine all over the five boroughs for protection. Yeah, it’s weird. But the whole quest is weird. A message beyond the grave to befriend strangers? Beats the alternative. I don’t want to see a boy mourning his father in standard fashion here, do you?
Linda (Sandra Bullock) has the thankless role of being the surviving parent. I liked this part, too. Dad was “good cop.” Losing him sucks on so many levels one can’t begin to describe the depth. You want to survive that? Really? There are those who are going to call Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close the best film of 2011. I won’t agree with them, but I won’t chide them, either. Depending on your experience, it really could be.
Oh, almost forgot. Touching film or no, the title sucks.
Rated PG-13, 129 Minutes
D: Stephen Daldry
W: Eric Roth
Genre: Emotional treasure hunt
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Do you like to cry at the movies?
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Do you like to cry at the movies?
