Rating of
2.5/4
"Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/22/16
A young, mildly autistic boy deals with his grief at the loss of his father during 9/11 by seeking the lock belonging to a key he finds amongst his father's possessions. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close is very much an exercise in heart string-tugging as we join the boy on his quest to make sense of death and loss. The film very much relies on this central performance and young Thomas Horn is belies his years with a believable and engaging turn that is both amusing and engaging; the chemistry with both Tom Hanks as his father and Maz Von Sydow works particularly well. Of course, as with all films of this type, it's all very contrived and I couldn't help thinking that the script could've got to the point rather sooner, but the sensitive direction, solid performances all round and charming score pay dividends for the moving finale. Emotional button pushing to be sure, but it's expertly done.
