Extremely Loud is worthwhile film, but falls slightly short of Foer’s novel

Tara Moreland
2/17/12

I first read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer in high school, and it quickly became one of my favorite books. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about a boy who loses his father in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and sets out on a journey to figure out his father’s last message to him. It takes a lot for a book to bring me to tears, but Foer’s novel made me weep. It truly is a lovely and tragic story all-in-one, and I often think of one of my favorite quotes from the book: “Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.”
The film adaptation, directed by Stephen Daldry, opens with scenes of nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) solving mysteries or scavenger hunts that his father, Thomas, (Tom Hanks), poses to him and that are intended to test his critical-thinking and creativity skills. Oskar and his father are close, while the boy and his mother, Linda (Sandra Bullock), are more distant. Thomas understands his son and his thought processes in a deeper manner (it is implied that Oskar has Asperger’s Syndrome) and accepts his son, despite his severe social anxiety and other quirks.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Thomas Schell goes to a meeting in the World Trade Center and is trapped when the tower is hit by one of the planes. He leaves a series of messages on the answering machine, and Oskar is the only one to hear them. As Oskar listens to the sixth and final message, which is cut off, he watches the collapse of the tower in which his father is meeting. After the attacks, Oskar discovers a key and, thinking it is a last excursion constructed by his father, goes on a mission to find the lock that it opens. He travels throughout New York City searching for the key’s owner. He interviews people to further his quest, sharing his own story and learning about other’s lives.
During the journey, Oskar discovers that his grandfather, who was not present in Oskar’s father’s life, is secretly living with his grandmother, and takes him on part of his excursion to find the key’s owner.
When discussing the movie with someone, the person said that one potential problem is that it is almost too real. I agree with this sentiment mainly because every image of 9/11 in this film is completely real. The images of the towers burning, the news stations reporting the attacks on television, people jumping out of the buildings—it is all real footage of that day, and it is gut-wrenching to watch. The scene in which Oskar watches the towers fall—his father inside—is particularly devastating. How many people in real life on that day watched their loved ones perish on television? These scenes are vivid and tragic.
One thing that I disliked about this adaptation is how it skimmed over Oskar’s relationship with his grandfather. This is such an important part of the book, and I believe it was condensed too much in the movie. Also, there were certain quirky scenes that were not given context in the film. This likely made them seem completely out of place and odd to someone who did not read the book. These rushed parts took away from the depth of the story on screen.
Overall, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a fairly good translation from book to film for being packed into little more than two hours. While it did not make me weep, it evoked a few tears and reminded me of how much I love the book. Despite the rushed portions, there were parts of this movie that were literally breathtaking in their intensity. If you are considering seeing this movie, my opinion is that it is worth the money. My only suggestion is this: Read the book first.  The movie will make much more sense and be much more powerful if you do.