The trailer for Room opens with Brie Larson as Ma, singing "Big Rock Candy Mountain" to her young son. The two play and dance like a happy mother and child. This is then followed by a soul-piercing scream. "I guess they still can't hear us," she says. Soon after, a camera reveals where they are held: A tiny, isolated room.
It's a striking and heartbreaking reveal, though one that will be familiar to those who've read Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel on which the Lenny Abrahamson-directed film is based. The book tells the story of Ma and her young son Jack, kept captive by Old Nick, from Jack's own perspective, and the trailer shows the same child's eye view. This first look at the film also shows Ma and Jack in the world outside Room, after Ma plots their escape.
The film, which will be at the Toronto International Film Festival, is scheduled for an October 16 release in New York and Los Angeles. That sort of rollout schedule signals an Oscar run for the film. If the trailer is any indication, Larson could easily be headed for a best actress nomination or possibly a win.
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