So I decided to read and remark upon all the awards scripts that are going around in Caty’s excellent post. Which keeps getting longer!!
Room is adapted from a novel by its author, which shows, but that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker. It gets its work done in a novelly unfolding of events and some redundant VO.
As a competition script, this would do pretty well. It has a good solid hook, a woman kidnapped as a teenager and made pregnant by her captor is now a mother, her child is 5, and she is able to escape. Returning to her family accompanied by her child, who has never spoken to another human being and still breastfeeds, who is also the product of her rape, turns out not to be heaven after all.
It feels weirdly divided for a film, with equal first and second acts, but just because it feels a little weird doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Room plays a lot with striking a balance, so the structure is an interesting choice more than an issue.
Project recommendation: Recommend.