Striking the right chord between the naïve simplicity and childlike wonder of describing the world as seen through the eyes of the sucklings is not an easy feat. In “Room”, Lenny Abrahamson contrasts the purest of the pure with the grimmest of the grim, describing a torturous hostage situation through the eyes of the five-year old Jack (Jacob Tremblay). Its premise follows the footsteps of “Beasts of the Southern Wild” but the magic-realism tinged vast confines of Louisiana bayou are replaced with a kitchen-sink view of a cleverly manipulated confined shed space.

The offbeat survival thriller moves from a tender parent-child love story with a quaint edge to a spine-thrilling escape adventure and back. The love between Ma and Jack shines a bright life-affirming ray of light through their skilfully filmed claustrophobic living quarters. In the last third of the film, the danger from the outside morphs into something more innate and personal as Brie Larson’s effortlessly strong Ma becomes the bomb on the brink of explosion. Despite the changes in focus and pace, the silent rage of “Room” which is hidden behind the rose-tinted glasses of a five-year old never loses its dormant appeal. Jack’s sheer unquenchable love for life itself and incessant wonder crawls under your skin. “Room” resides in a small confined space but it has a big heart.