This past weekend, I saw the film “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” The movie was written by Eric Roth, based on the novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathon Safran Foer; and was directed by Stephen Daldry. It stars Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Max von Sydow. The movie has received mixed reviews, but was still nominated for 2 Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Max von Sydow. “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” although perhaps not a masterpiece, is still worth a viewing. It is an interesting addition to the category of films inspired by the events of September 11, and is perhaps worth the view for its subject alone.

Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) is a 12-year-old boy that lives in New York City. On September 11, 2001, his father, Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks), was tragically killed when the World Trade Center towers collapse. Oskar now lives alone with his mother, Linda (Sandra Bullock). He greatly misses his father, who had often been the guiding force in his life. Similar to Asperger’s syndrome, Oskar is socially awkward, easily scared, and has unusual patterns of behavior. When his father was alive, he spent a lot of time trying to break Oskar out of these habits. One method that he used was to send his son on scavenger hunts around Central Park in order to search for clues to a treasure of some sort. In the process, Oskar was forced to interact with people, and was able to come out of his comfort zone. But nearly all of this progress had been erased when Thomas is killed on September 11. A year after the event, while looking through his father’s closet, Oskar finds a key in an envelope with the word “Black” written on the side. Thinking that it is another clue connected to the scavenger hunts that they used to do, Oskar sets out on a journey through New York. He meets many people along the way, and has adventures across the city while he tries to uncover the mystery behind the key.

Stories of 9/11 had been brought to the screen before in films such as “World Trade Center” and “United 93”. But “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” seems more relatable and personal than anything else I had seen. The movie is a fictional story, yet it is connected to very real events. On September 11, many children lost their parents, and were left in a similar predicament as Oskar. Not knowing who to blame, and not being able to explain the situation in a rational manner, children had a tough time moving on and living normal lives. Though the premise is one that is likely to attract audiences, the film falls short in its actual presentation. But, like all things, it has its good and its bad moments.

Thomas Horn was chosen by producers to portray Oskar Schell after he had been a part of the Jeopardy kid’s tournament in 2010. The boy seemed to have charm and audience appeal, which is transferred into his performance in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” Awkward and quirky, and with increasingly eccentric behavior, Horn’s character is uncomfortable to watch at first. However, he does grow on you as the film goes on. It is hard to imagine another actor that would have fit the role better.

The use of voice-over narration, and the representation of Oskar’s words visually, is a method used by the director in order to portray Oskar’s conflicting inner emotions. An example of this is when we see Oskar describing the many parts of the city that he is frightened of. At the same time he is speaking, we see flashes of commotion as he describes them, including: crowds of people walking at a brisk pace, racing taxi cabs and buses, loud screeches of trains, and more. But then there are the quiet moments of the film, which exist in order to complement the hectic ones. We observe Oskar laying under his couch in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the towers, and with one look at his tear-stained face, immediately feel his overwhelming grief at the realization that he will never see or talk to his father again. Nothing is said in moments like these, yet as the saying goes, an action, or in this case, the lack of action, can speak louder than words. The easily identified emotions, expressed through silent images, help to raise the film above some of its flaws.

We are greeted once again by the concept of silence when we meet the character played by Max von Sydow, who is never named in the film, but is called “The Renter.” Due to the traumatic experience of being in a bombing that killed both of his parents when he was little, the old man is unable to talk, and expresses himself by writing on a pad of paper. To place the disturbed young Oskar, who often speaks in a frantic manner, and with no rhyme or reason; next to an old man who cannot speak at all, helps to show a contrast that speaks perfectly to the great diversity of the human race, and how vastly different each of us deals with grief and tragedy. The Renter decides to join Oskar on his search for clues about the mysterious key. At this point, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” which had been dragging along and slowly losing its audience, begins to pick up speed. Sydow, with a remarkable career in his past, having starred in such films as “The Seventh Seal and “The Exorcist, has devoted himself to this captivating role. But, almost as soon as the character was introduced, he is abruptly removed from action. The old man is not seen again until the last few minutes of the film. What could have been the movie’s saving grace instead leaves the audience unimpressed and dissatisfied, possibly even more so than previously.

It is this pattern that repeats quite often in the film. It will reach a peak, picking up steam with a moment of beauty, but then loses its momentum, hits a wall, and regresses into a dull repetition. It is upsetting, given an audience-grabbing story such as this one, that the producers did not spend more time or effort in raising the film to its full potential. Yet, I would not say that it should be completely disregarded. It is at least worth a viewing, if only for those few moments when everything seems to fit together, almost with a sense of poetry, or perhaps for the underlying message that, as long as we have hope, life can go on, even in the aftermath of one of the worst incidents of our lifetimes.