Room movie review: Will harrowing drama captivate audiences?

Room, the new drama drama based on the book of the same name by Canadian author Emma Donoghue, stars Brie Larson.

The actress plays a twenty-something mother who is imprisoned with her young son in a shed that has been their home since she was abducted at the age of 17.

The new movie is out in cinemas today, but is it worth a watch? Here is everything you need to know about Room (15).

What is it about?

From the moment he was born, Jack (seven-year-old actor Jacob Tremblay) has only known the four walls and skylight of the squalid single room he shares with his Ma (Brie Larson). Every day when he wakes, Jack cheerfully addresses the furniture in his makeshift home.

"Morning lamp, morning rug, morning wardrobe," he chirps, while his mother prepares a meagre bowl of cereal.

The boy is blissfully unaware that Ma was abducted as a teenager by a man called Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), who is holding them hostage.

Despite her ordeal, Ma protects Jack from sickening reality as best she can. A television is their only outlet to the outside world that the boy might never see.

After years of suffering, Ma concocts a daring plan to get Jack away from Old Nick and hopefully into the arms of her parents Robert (William H Macy) and Nancy (Joan Allen).

If the escape bid fails, however, the repercussions are unthinkable.

Who is in it?

21 Jump Street's Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, voice of Blue in The Smurfs 2, Sean Bridgers of 2011's The Woman, Fargo's William H Macy, Joan Allen from Face/Off and Air Force One's Wendy Crewson.

Is it worth a watch?

4/5

Room is ultimately not something you would readily call enjoyable, but it is a cathartic and provocative reminder that life is full of possibilities and outcomes.

The story unfolds largely through the eyes of Jack and by adopting his innocent perspective, director Lenny Abrahamson navigates some choppy emotional waters with sensitivity and skill. The on-screen partnership of Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay galvanises every frame, but this is an embarrassment of riches in front of and behind the cameras.

Emma Donoghue's script is masterful and the simple, yet evocative, production design induces a sense of choking claustrophobia that has us biting our nails down to the cuticle in the hope that Jack at least, might wriggle free of Old Nick's iron grasp.

Larson has already landed a Best Performance Golden Globe and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Ma. The actress is sensational as the kidnapped woman, who sacrifices everything to protect her child from what lies beyond the locked door that opens once a week when their captor delivers limited food and provisions in exchange for sexual favours. She conveys her character's years of suffering in heartrending glances.

Equally impressive is Tremblay as the boy trapped in a living nightmare beyond his comprehension. The emotional depth and maturity of his portrayal is jaw-dropping. There's no hint of stage school artifice or cuteness that might break the grim spell conjured by Abrahamson - it's the best performance by a child actor since Anna Paquin in The Piano.

Room is one of the year’s most harrowing, but ultimately life-affirming, films. It's a beautiful story about strength, survival, imagination, rehabilitation and most importantly, love.

Where can I buy tickets?

Odeon , Cineworld , Vue and Reel cinemas are now taking bookings for the showings of Room.