Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) refers to September 11 as “the worst day” when his father, Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks), was killed in one of the World Trade Center towers. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, directed by Stephan Daldry (Billy Elliot), adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, tells Oskar’s story in the months following his father’s death.
Foer’s novel is enchanting, constructed out of metaphorically packed sentences and visually stimulating play with the print. Eric Roth, the screenwriter, attempts to capture the awe of Foer’s literary style in verbal form. The result is an earful of Oskar’s dramatic soliloquy with little of the enchantment.
Oskar is nine year-old with a tormented and neurotic old soul. Months after his father’s death, he discovers a mysterious key in his father’s closet. Convinced that which lock the key belongs to will bring about some reconciliation with the loss of his father, he embarks on an ambitious adventure throughout New York.
He meets interesting individuals along the way, including an old man that Oskar calls “The Renter” (Max von Sydow). The Renter doesn’t speak, he communicates only via notepad and pen and a “yes” or “no” by flashing those words tattooed on his palms.
This is great juxtaposition to Oskar’s dominating voice, however, right when we begin to realize the importance of The Renter’s role in Oskar’s life, he gets whisked away. Meanwhile, Oskar’s widowed mother, Linda Schell, (Sandra Bullock), is also struggling to come to terms with Thomas’s death. Flashbacks show glimpses of her struggle, including one final painful phone conversation on the morning of her husband’s death. But these are just glimpses.
With a setting as traumatic as September 11, it would seem as if the film would be emotionally charged from the first scene. Instead, we are treated to Oskar’s rapid and lengthy narration, which is often highly distracting. The film thus has to heavily rely on The Renter and Linda to refocus the film’s pathos. Even then, the density of Oskar’s character undermines the power of The Renter’s mysterious past and Linda’s struggle.
Though few tears may be provoked, it is not quite thanks to Oskar as much as the secondary characters. Oskar’s story dominates the film’s plotline, which is a shame for the remaining stories that go unexplored because they are just as pivotal. Unfortunately, we must sit through half of the film before realizing any of this.
