Mother and Son Break Free From Seven Years of Captivity in ‘Room’

Sandra Miska

The world through the eyes of a young boy living outside of captivity for the first time in his five years is shown in “Room.” This Canadian-Irish drama stars Brie Larson as a woman who escapes with her young son years after being held captive. “Room” is based on the 2010 best-selling novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue.

Larson plays Joy Newsome, also known as Ma, who was kidnapped seven years ago by a man she knows only as Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) and locked away in a single room, a soundproof garden shed in his backyard. Seven years later, Ma now has a five-year-old son, Jake (Jacob Tremblay), the product of her being raped by her captor. Jake knows no life outside of the room, and Ma is desperate for their release. While trapped in what they refer to simply as Room, Ma and Jack spend every waking moment together and his only friends are objects, such as Toilet, Table and Sink. Ma is the only other human he has ever spoken to, as Old Nick only interacts with Ma when he comes to bring food and other supplies.

Everything changes when Ma devises an escape plan. Jack, understandably, is immediately overwhelmed by the outside world. Joan Allen and William H. Macy play Ma’s parents who have mixed feelings about their daughter’s return.

According to Donoghue, the story was inspired by the real-life case of Felix Fritzl, who spent the first five years of his life in the basement where his mother Elisabeth was being held captive by her own father.

Larson is already garnering some early Oscar buzz for her role in “Room.” She recently spoke with “CBS News” about how she prepared to play a woman who spent seven years in captivity.

“I was on this restrictive diet with the help of a nutritionist and I was working out with a trainer every day. And I was speaking with a trauma counselor,” she said. “The only aspect that I had a hard time wrapping my brain around was being in a confined space for seven years … Like seven years later, what kind of acceptance has arisen from being there for so long? …. When you’re given all this empty time in silence, what kind of stuff comes up?”

“Room” opens in select theaters Oct. 16.