Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Saturday night Jared and I stopped at a Redbox hoping to find a good movie to watch at home.  We were not disappointed!

We chose Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

When I saw that Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock were both in this movie, I figured it had to be good.  Turns out that the little boy who plays the leading role is also a brilliant actor.

Here's a description from the movie's official website:

Adapted from the acclaimed bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock – encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way – he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

Near the beginning of the movie, Oskar lists all the things that scare him.  As he was talking, I said to Jared, "I so get this kid."

It reminded me of the Scaredy Squirrel books.

My sister was the first person to buy my kids a Scaredy Squirrel book.  I didn't know if she was poking fun at me or if I just saw myself in this anxious squirrel.  Whatever the case, my kids enjoy the books.

Oskar, the quirky little boy in the movie, has many fears as well as interesting habits, like shaking a tambourine to calm himself.  He addressed a question in my mind when he was talking to a woman in the movie and saying a few things that weren't quite socially appropriate.  He said that he had once been tested for Asberger's.  He briefly explained the disorder and said, "The tests were inconclusive."

He is a unique kid with an incredible mind.  His amazing dad had nourished his son's mind and taught him how to be scientific and a little adventurous.  Oskar's expedition to find the lock for his dad's key was his culminating adventure to use all his dad had taught him while holding onto the last piece of his father.

This movie shows so many different sides of humanity.  It speaks to emotional connections that can be made between strangers.  It addresses what family really means, and it absolutely pulls at the heartstrings of parents.

I'm so thankful that we chose this movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Jessica