What do Josef Fritzl, Ariel Castro and Old Nick have in common? It is the fact that they all kidnapped young women, put them in a room, imprisoned them there for several years, raped them and starved them, but finally captured them and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The only difference is that Fritzl and Castro are real people, while Old Nick is a fictional character from Emma Donoghue’s novel. Bedroom, which was later made into a movie with the same title. Donoghue’s book was also inspired by the Fritzl case: He kept his own daughter in a basement for 24 years and had seven children with her.
Watching the movie BedroomOne cannot help but remember the shocking stories of Fritzl and Castro, and the ordeal that the women they kidnapped had to go through.
Bedroom introduces us to Ma (Brie Larson) and her son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who just turned five. The room is actually a shed in the backyard of Old Nick’s compound. We learn that Ma is actually Joy Newman, who has been in that shed for seven years. When she was seventeen, Old Nick tricked her into telling her that her dog had fallen somewhere and needed help. She helped him, but was trapped as a result. She eventually became pregnant, but decided to support her child, claiming later in an interview that her child is nobody’s but hers. She has developed a certain coexistence with her captor because he brings necessary items like food and clothing to survive, but for her son, Old Nick is someone who is best kept away from and avoided. Every night when Old Nick comes to sleep with her, she puts Jack in the closet. When Old Nick showed interest in Jack, she was very protective. They had managed to escape, but after seven years of being caged in a small windowless room, Joy found the world too much to take in.
This film does not show the heartbreaking details of being a prisoner in a room, as it is told from the point of view of a child. One can capture the fragmented cinematic movement in the film as Jack’s playfulness and imagination are emphasized. Proving resourceful, Ma used eggshells and tissue rolls as toys for Jack. Mom’s fierce love for her son, Jack allowed the boy to grow up with a fondness for literature and a lot of courage. When Mom came up with a daring plan to escape, it was through Jack that it materialized. When Mom decided to overdose on pills, it was Jack who found out and asked for help. That bond that unites mother and child, similar to an umbilical cord, is accentuated without much drama.
Larson and Tremblay gave such outstanding performances here. Tremblay’s acting is so innocent and raw that it feels like he’s not acting at all. Joan Allen, as Ma’s mother, also provided a brilliant supportive act by displaying a variety of emotions from relief, anger, and guilt. If there is a downside to this movie, it’s casting William H. Macy as Mom’s dad. He exaggerated the role, and the script could have given him more speaking parts than just apologizing over and over again.
Fritzl, Castro and Old Nick also have something else in common. The women they have kidnapped managed to escape successfully and lived to tell their stories. Bedroom It will give you an idea of what it means to be in their place.