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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Review

By Tiffiny Whitney · January 23, 2012

I’m not sure if it’s fair to say that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a film looking to cheaply cash in on the 9/11 tragedy.  There is a fair share of those films out there, like WWII and Holocaust films that seem to think that if they use one of the world’s greatest tragedies as the subject matter, that somehow the emotion attached to the event will inevitably resonate with viewers and somehow make it a film good.  That being said, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close just feels like one of those films, cheapening the message they were trying to portray and making the whole thing feel slightly hollow.

Based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film follows a young boy named Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) struggling to deal with the aftermath and memories of his father (played by Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City.  Though intellectually curious and hyperaware of the observable world around him, Oskar is at first unable to ease the pain of his mother (played by Sandra Bullock), who is lost and wondering at the loss of her husband.  In his own strange way of seeking to find peace and closure with his father’s memories (which, in flashbacks, let us know why it is so important for Oskar to reconnect one last time with his father), Oskar takes from his collection of things attached to his father’s memories a strange key with the word “Black” attached to it.  If he is somehow able to decipher the meaning of the key, he believes it may lead him to one last message from his father. 

Combing the entire city of New York with a tambourine in tow, Oskar attempts to find every person with the last name of Black to ask them if they have any locks that need to be unlocked.  In his search, he comes across man known as The Renter (played by Max von Sydow), who is deaf and communicates in a series of scribbles, as well as “yes” and “no” written on the palms of his hands.  The Renter, a peculiar old man with his own sad past, agrees to help the boy on his quest, even though it seems helpless and unfocused.

Though definitely very moving in parts, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a film that I would similarly describe as wandering and slightly unfocused itself.  I would be more inclined to blame author Jonathan Safran Foer of the novelization for that, however, than screenwriter Eric Roth.  Roth, who penned great films like Ali, The Good Shepherd, and another Hanks film, Forrest Gump, seems to be doing the best he can with source material that is ultimately heavy-handed and more than a little over-sentimental. 

For example, the book employs the Oskar himself as the narrator of the film.  As would be expected, Oskar, too is our narrator.  Unlike Forrest Gump, however, where the narration of the title character was at least slightly subtle, Oskar’s voice is always there and, in all honesty, a little tough to keep track of.  On the autism spectrum, he speaks in a stream-of-consciousness way that you would expect a child in his position to be like, but it seems much more suited to the written word than it does on screen where action should be the primary focus for the writer.  Movies are there to visually tell a story, with words being more or less a complement to help move the story along.  In this film, they feel over-exploited and seem to draw attention away from the film’s true focus.

Additionally, as I previously stated, the film seems heavy-handed in a desire to almost capitalize off the universal internalization of the events of September 11, 2001 that most of its audience will be able to relate with.  The story isn’t about 9/11 though—it’s about coming to terms with tragedy and “moving on” in life, even if it means that we must move forward when things have irreparably changed.  The film seems to try to make us feel as if the tragedy of a boy losing his father, however, is somehow heightened by the fact that 9/11 is what took Tom Hanks from him, not the loss itself.  It’s as if it has to be 9/11 in order to increase the legitimacy of the tragedy of the loss. 

Trying to accomplish it in the way that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close tries to do it, however, almost feel as if it…cheapens in a way the real tragedy that 9/11 was, especially as it is tied to the bombing of Dresden in World War II.  The only thing that I can pull in using these events is that, as Sandra Bullock’s character says, “It will never make sense!”  Sometimes events happen that seem meaningless and senseless in a way—the death of our loved ones, the 9/11 tragedy, and even Dresden.  The senseless loss of life may never make logical sense to anyone, particularly when you’re closely affected yourself by the tragedy (such as a death).  That being said, the film seems to capitalize more on that tragedy to make you like the film, rather than any real substance.

If there’s anything really wonderful to be said about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, it is to reiterate what we already know about talents like Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks.  Both are Oscar winners for a reason, and it’s that they both can carry a role with a sense of realism and professionalism.  Their performances, and even that of Thomas Horn as Oskar, really endear viewers to this film more than the film itself.  That being said, the film overplays its own theme, and honestly, with a sense of sadness, it’s not really worth it.