There have been several theatrical and TV movies made about 9/11, few have stirred the soul like EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. It's an emotional powerhouse of a film, an unforgettable and rewarding motion picture experience.

Based on the 2005 bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer which was told in the first person by 11-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), the film follows the kid's journey as he travels the streets of New York City one year later, trying to unravel the secret of a key left behind by his father (Tom Hanks) who died in the Twin Towers. With his mother (Sandra Bullock) emotionally unavailable, he sets out to find answers that will give him closure as he goes from one location to another, meeting a variety of people who may not be able to satisfy his quest but prove to be strong survivors in their own way. The raw wounds this journey opens and the difficulties he encounters dealing with his distant mom form the basis for most of the drama.

Where EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE Close succeeds most is in Stephen Daldry's intimate direction and expert guidance of Horn, whose only previous experience in front of a camera was as the winner of “Kids Jeopardy”. Though top-billed Hanks is mostly seen in a few flashbacks, his presence is felt throughout. Bullock (Her first role since the Oscar-winning “The Blind Side”is superb in her few scenes, particularly one in which Oskar tells her coldly he wished she had been the one who died and not his father. The veteran Max von Sydow is touching and memorable as a man of no words, but with a past that is revealed slowly with devastating impact. There are numerous others in the large cast that Oskar encounters on his journey, notably Viola Davis who makes the most of a couple of intense scenes, and Jeffrey Wright whose single extended scene opposite Oskar is a major highlight.

Eric Roth's smart adaptation of the book leaves much out by necessity, but gets the essence of Oskar's inner life brilliantly

Box Office Magazine
Copyright Box Office Magazine