Room (DVD): Review

Film

Room, the name given to the shed in which a young boy has been raised for the past several years, never knowing the outside world.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and Ma (Brie Larson) are living in isolation, coming to be in this predicament through the evil deeds of Old Nick (Sean Bridgers). Room tells the story of the confined life these two live, and their struggle to return to the outside world, and rejoin society. As the story progresses, we learn more about how they came to be in this predicament.

At the same time as we learn more about their history, the characters themselves learn more about their own strengths.

Brei Larson delivers a amazing, gut wrenching performance as Ma. A role that earned her an Oscar, a Golden Globe, SAG Award, Critics Choice, BAFTA and ACCA, leaving no doubt about the power of the character of Ma, and the talent used to bring her to life.

Jacob Tremblay too won a Critics Choice Award for his portrayal of Jack, and this is evident with the very complex and layered relationship the two portray on screen.

The story is a plain one, simple, no twists, other than the reveal of why Ma and Jack are in the room. It evokes a lot of emotion, challenging the viewer to reflect on their own life, and how they’d react or act in similar circumstances. But, a simple story that is well executed and directed. Watching the progression of character and the world as the tale unfolds is something to behold.

There are few films that deserve the catch phrase of “must watch”. Room is one such film. This is a must see, a prize example to actors of how to become an character, and a story, whilst a difficult subject to deal with, is one to behold. See it now.

Disc

Room is available now, for purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video is encoded at a high bitrate, with no visible artefacts on screen. Colours do not bleed, and in the several darker scenes, black is deep and rich.

Users with the necessary hardware or software can scale the image up to a larger or higher resolution screen.

Audio

Audio is presented in 5.1 and 2.0 mixes, at a high bitrate. The subject matter, and nature of the story though, do not lend themselves to a large amount of use of the surround channels, but these do serve to broaden the on-screen world, and help draw the viewer further in to the story.

Navigation

Navigation is comprised of simple, static menu pages, saving on disc space. The menu is easy to navigate.

Bonus

There are unfortunately no bonus features on the disc, other than trailers for Sonskyn Beperk, The Girl In The Book, and Lego Marvel Avengers.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb