"Room"

Although the movie is from 2015, I avoided watching it until recently. I was under the mistaken impression that it focused a woman and her child who were held captive and abused for the entire length of the film. While that is partially true, the abuse is only hinted at, and the story of their captivity is only a part of the movie. The plot is about a young woman named Ma (Brie Larson) and her six-year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay). She's been held captive since before her son was born, and she does everything in her powers to make their world seem normal. They devise an elaborate escape plan, and it's after they're free that their lives get interesting. The two of them now have to process the real world and Ma has to make sense of the changed family dynamics. This is due to her divorced mother and her new step-dad. The two principal actors give thoroughly convincing performances.  Ms Larson came to my attention in the film "Short Term 12," which I also highly recommend.
4 out of 5 stars