Review: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (DVD/Blu-Ray) - Dir. Stephen Daldry. Starring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock.

Devastating drama about moving past loss and finding meaning where none exists.

A nine-year-old autistic spectrum boy (Thomas Horn) whose father died in the World Trade Center attacks discovers a mysterious key in his father's closet. Desperate to make sense of the tragedy and maintain a connection to his father (Tom Hanks), he goes on a quest across the city to find the lock that fits the key.

It needs to be acknowledged that Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, is blatant Oscar bait. All the pieces are carefully arranged: 9/11, Tom Hanks as the tragically deceased perfect father, the new child star with the big blue eyes playing an "abnormal" kid, the unlikely friendship with a sad old man.

And without a doubt, it occasionally delves too far into its own sales pitch. It crosses the line sometimes between sentimental and sappy-between sad and mopey.

But despite being a bit manipulative, it never feels false the way that Pay it Forward did, or exploitive like past 9/11 films have been.

This is instead a sincere drama whose only crime is being a little too earnest at times. The emotion is real-just a bit relentless in its assault.

The film is noteworthy above all for being a generation-spanning acting showcase. Thomas Horn gives what must be the best child performance since that kid who saw dead people. His character is a mess of anxieties stomped down under a force of defiance and determination, with no façade or filter to hide behind. He's annoying as hell, but completely believable.

Max von Sydow is cast as a mute, which is similar to casting Scarlett Johansson and making her wear a bag on her head. Sydow, of course, isn't hindered in the slightest. He's an acting powerhouse whose generous eyebrows do all the talking he needs.

Even Sandra Bullock puts in one of the better performances of the year as the mother, despite the risk of it being lost somewhere between the radiant auras of von Sydow and Horn.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close avoids easy answers but still manages to satisfy. It's a thoughtful take on some difficult subject matter.

Rated PG-13 for Francophilia.
4 out of 5

A Dangerous Method (DVD/Blu-Ray) - Dir. David Cronenberg. Starring Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen.

In the early 20th century, psychologist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) treats wealthy hysteria patient Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) using Sigmund Freud's (Viggo Mortensen) recently invented psychoanalysis method. The personal clashes that arise between these three are the material of A Dangerous Method's drama.

The three lead performers are all strong, even if Knightley's transformation from a babbling lunatic into a distinguished physician stretches believability. Mortensen's compelling take on Freud makes a good argument that the film should have focused on him instead of his two more excitable and hormone-driven colleagues.

At times, A Dangerous Method feels as though it might be a cleverly disguised comedy. The passive-aggressive letters Freud and Jung write to one another are definitely worth some chuckles, and the film has the potential for a rewarding drinking game based on the number of times Jung invents a new justification for sleeping with his patients or Freud brings up penises for no good reason.

So A Dangerous Method has entertainment value, but in the end, it's simply not a very interesting story. There is no doubt dramatic potential in a tale of forbidden love between a physician and a patient, and in its impact on the relationship between two of early psychology's greatest minds-as a subplot, perhaps. Not an entire film.

This story may be set against the background of a revolutionary and controversial new approach to medicine, but it has little or nothing to do with that revolution and everything to do with the petty high school-level drama of the people behind it.

The plot, it turns out, can be summarized thusly: Carl hooked up with Sabina last year even though Sigmund totally told him not to and now Carl can't come to Sigmund's birthday party because they're super mad at each other.

I think I already saw this episode of Degrassi.

Rated R for analytical spankology.
3 out of 5