Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Part mystery, part psychotic—not-quite—thriller that leaves far more questions than it does answers is a suitable description of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This film opened on Christmas Day of last year (OK, so not quite a month ago), but due to its limited release, took nearly a month to make it to the Phoenix area.

Starring Hollywood long-timers Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, Extremely Loud tells the story of Oskar Schell, a child too brilliant for his own good. He’s fascinated by scientific discovery but also plagued by intense, well-thought-out, if irrational fears. Playing off both, Oskar’s father (Tom Hanks) creates treasure hunts to stimulate his young thinker’s mind. These serve dual purpose in that they’re planned to force Oskar to overcome his fears. Growing up in New York City, Oskar has more than a few things to ponder and fear, but his inquisitiveness and phobias take on new meaning after September 11, 2001. His father is among those who perish in the World Trade Center.

Trying to solve one final mystery that he believes his father left for him, Oskar sets out to conquer the five burrows, believing his father has one last important story to share. Along the way, Oskar is forced to face his fears, while constantly tormented by his own inner voices and frustrations. And this is where we see the darker side of Oskar begin to show. He demonstrates cringe-eliciting rudeness and disrespect toward authorities, elderly people, and even his own still-grieving mother (Sandra Bullock).  He resorts to self mutilation to deal with his anxieties. Unlike say, Donnie Darko, there’s nothing remotely amusing about this childhood psycho.

That said, I did enjoy the attention to visual details in this film such as seeing the original iMac in all its multi-flavored glory (in one scene said indigo iMac is running an old version of Adobe CS—cool). However, and one can almost forgive director Stephen Daldry for this since it was shot in present-day NYC, some of the cars are quite a bit newer than 2001 models. They also have Empire Plates. While introduced in 2001, at that time the Liberty Plate would have still been phasing out. Picky details, I know.

Extremely Loud is also extremely long. It has no definitive ending, and it creates more questions than it does answers, leaving moviegoers uneasy, without a sense of resolution. I guess the bottom line is you’re left to draw some of your own conclusions. I suppose it provides fodder for discussion in the theater lobby.

I had also gone in hoping to see a vivid and dramatic re-creation of September 11. However, truth be told, Oskar’s father could have died any number of other ways, and the basic plot would not be affected. To date the only good September 11 movie I’ve seen was United 93.

So my take: Don’t waste your time and money on this one.