Sultan Hajjar (Abu Dhabi)
“The Room,” a novel by Irish-Canadian writer Emma Donoghue, published in 2010, tells the story of a five-year-old boy named (Jack) who was imprisoned with his mother in a small room by a person named (Nike). The child lives and grows up with his mother, “Larson” in A small room, the area of which does not exceed 9 meters, inside which was hidden “Nike”, who kidnapped the mother for 7 years, except that the mother hid the truth from her son who was born and lived in this room, but she tried to create a parallel world for him inside this place, but day after day Jack’s curiosity was increasing to know what was outside this world in which he lived.
The novel topped the best-selling lists, won the International Man Booker Prize, and won the Orange Prize in 2011. It was turned into a movie with the same name in 2015, directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
For Jack, the room is the bulk of his world in which he was born and raised, where he and his mother live in it, learn, read, sleep and play, and when the night falls, his mother closes the closet tightly for him in order to sleep in it, coinciding with the date of the visit of the old “Nike” to her.
Jack’s mother thought of escaping when she found out that this old man was unemployed, and that he was on his way to losing his house in which the room was located because of the mortgage. ) and who had to pretend that he was sick and had to be taken to a doctor for treatment, but the old “Nike” did not fulfill her request.
world «room»
The small room consisted of a mattress, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a TV, where Jack lives with his mother, and this room represents the world to them, for there is nothing behind the door of the room but space, as Jack believed that the world exists only on this TV screen and there is no other That, and his mother used to assure him of that, especially since this (Nike) would only come at night to bring them food, while Jack was asleep.
Jack did not know at the time that the kidnapper was his father, and that he and his mother were kidnapped. The mother had hidden from him that old Nike had kidnapped her and detained her inside this room seven years ago.
Plan to escape
The mother knew that “Nike” would inevitably lose his house, and all that preoccupied her was what would happen to them when the mortgage owner arrived to take over the house ?, He would certainly kill them to get rid of them to hide his crime, as he would not expose himself to the risk of their release, so I began thinking of a plan to get out From this place as quickly as possible, the mother resorted to another trick, which is that Jack is not sick, but has actually died, and here Nike knew that his body must be disposed of, so he wrapped him in a carpet and took him out of the room, and here Jack was able to escape and go out to the outside world, then he told The policemen were at the location of the room in which his mother was confined, and his mother was released and the old “Nike” was arrested.
outside the “room”
At first, and after escaping, Jack had difficulty dealing with those around him outside, but he knew very well that he had to free his mother, as he was able, by informing the police, to guide his mother and liberate her, as the police arrested (Nike) and brought a set of charges To him, Jack and his mother were placed in a hospital, and there she was returned to her family again, and with the story being circulated through various media outlets, Jack and his mother surrounded cameras everywhere, which made Jack continue his refusal to adapt to that world full of noise and interconnected relationships, and here the mother was injured With great frustration after one of the television interviews, he made a failed suicide attempt, as a result of which she was admitted to the hospital, leaving Jack alone with his grandmother.
loneliness and shock
After the mother recovers, she decides to live in an independent place with her son, who is having great difficulty adapting to this world and those around him. Despite showing affection and love for him, it is still difficult for Jack, and after a while, Jack finds that he cannot keep his mother. As before, it was only for him, without any partner, which made him yearn for that room, where only he and his mother used to live, and it was the world for him as well as for him, and as his desire to visit the room increased again, the mother decided to agree to that.
Jack returned to the “room” again with his mother to remember all the details, but he was surprised that there was no connection between him and this room, as he had grown up and saw the outside world, and now there was no emotional bond between him and her as he thought, on the contrary he wanted to get out of it quickly Here, Jack was able to say goodbye to the room for the last time, leaving behind all his memories, to become welcome to coexist with the outside world.
Awards and nominations
The production cost of the film was about $13 million, while it generated revenues of $36.3 million, and it won several important awards in the world of cinema, most notably the “Oscar” award for the category (Best Actress in a Leading Role) for actress Brie Larson in 2016, and she also won the Golden Award. Globe, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award, in addition to other nominations for the “Oscar” award: Best Direction, Best Film, and Best Adapted Text.
cinema screen
The novel “The Room” found its way to the world of seventh art in 2015, through a Canadian-produced film, starring Brie Larson (Mother Joy), Jacob Tremblay (Baby Jack), Sean Bridgers (Old Nike), in addition to William Macy, Robert Newsome, Joan Allen, Nancy Newsom, and Amanda Bruegel, directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
The film’s characters are not many, as they are limited to the mother and son, and the mother’s family whose members enter the events of the second part of the film, as well as few characters who appear, but they have a strong influence on the path of the main characters in the story, within the complex confrontations provided by the scenario.
What is new in the events of this movie is that it presents the world as the child (Jack) sees it, so we know that we live in a hateful world, while Jack sees the world with innocent eyes. The truth, and when he opened his eyes, he found nothing but ugliness in his reality, as his father is a kidnapper and rapist who caused his mother to suffer from severe psychological disorders as a result of a painful experience, to face a world that fears him and is not used to him. His point of view is what made the viewer see the world in a different and unprecedented way as Jack sees it, who was played by the child Jacob Tremblay to become a real artistic miracle, as he played the role with all spontaneity and simplicity despite his cruelty and difficulty, and was indeed the true spirit of the film and the secret of its distinction.
Historian, writer and playwright
Emma Donoghue, an Irish historian, writer, playwright, and novelist, was born on October 24, 1969 in Dublin, Ireland. She then moved to live in Canada. She authored many novels such as “The Hood” and “The Closed Letter,” but her novel “The Room” » (Room), which I wrote in 2010, was a finalist for the Man Booker International Literary Prize, and was an international bestseller.
And because her father, Dennis Donoghue, who worked as a literary critic, Emma became immersed in the love of reading, as she grew up in a library rich in books, novels, short stories, and various other book mothers that enriched her mind, and gained her various knowledge that prompted her to dive into the world of literature mixed with imagination, until she began She discovers her talent in novel writing.
