Room

DVD Rating: ****

Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson

Read Owen Van Spall's film review of Room
Room
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Studiocanal have packed Room full of extras for its DVD and Blu-ray release. Chief among them is an engaging commentary track with director Lenny Abrahamson, cinematographer Danny Cohen, editor Nathan Nugent and production designer Ethan Tobman, along with an uncredited female voice - who I would hazard a guess is one of the producers.

While the addition of an acting voice to the fray would have been welcome, the presence of so many people who were involved on the production side, allows for a wide-ranging discussion of light, set and camera choices. There's a nice recurring gag in the first half about Cohen's love of "getting a ping" from the characters' eyes in the darker scenes of the room where Ma and Jack are trapped and some interesting observations regarding the colour palette differences between poverty and affluence.

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It offers a good insight into Abrahamson's process, as he reveals that many of the shots involving his young star Jacob Tremblay were shot when he wasn't specifically 'acting' with a focus on not wasting an opportunity for a piece of footage.

The additional extras range from two-minute teasers up to the longest at 12 minutes. There is some repetition between them - and they suffer from some mawkish musical cues - but the the content is much better than the average film 'love in'. Writer/screenwriter Emma Donaghue is a particularly engaging companion and has plenty to offer on adapting the film and her first experiences of being on a set. Banter between stars Brie Larson and Tremblay is also sweet and shows how strong their relationship became over the course of the shoot.

Reviewed on: 09 May 2016
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A five-year-old discovers there may be more to the world than the single room in which he has been raised.
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Region: 2

Ratio: 16:9

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Extras: 11 x 11, Creating Room, Recreating Room, Emma’s Corner, Brie Larson on becoming Ma, Jacob Tremblay: The Discovery, Emma Donoghue: Adapting the novel and Brie and Jacob: An unbreakable bond.


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