Wow! Such a good movie.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Nominated for Best Picture back in 2011 which garnered some hate, with many considering that it should've been omitted. I can say with the utmost of confidence, I infinitely disagree to the nth degree and I've calculated that the percentage of those unfair critics were wrong. A young boy with traces of Asperger's syndrome stumbles across a key that his father hid away before his death during the 9/11 attack. We join him on a journey of self discovery as he tries so desperately hard to find what it unlocks. This is without a doubt one of my favourite dramas. It leaves me breathless after every viewing, beneath my lifeless exterior I become an emotional wreck. A narrative rich with character, emotion and sweetness that it'll have you smiling, laughing and tearing up. It's a simple story about closure, a boy wanting the seemingly impossible unanswered questions answered. With this, we experience a tale of people, grief and loss. To illustrate the importance of everyone having their own story and sharing them felt refreshing to watch. Overcoming fears, family relationships and the tragedy of a terrorist attack were also included. Yet the plot never felt overstuffed, each element was dealt with such love and tenderness that they intrinsically linked together to create a relatable story. The 9/11 attack never felt exploited, it was a means to project melodrama and how the characters dealt with their emotions differently. To then include Asperger's Syndrome allowed our main character to have a different perspective to the tragedy. He didn't immediately cry or visibly show grief, instead he kept it in his intricate mind which established a difficult relationship with his mother. His unpredictable and distraught behaviour enabled moments of conflict with other individuals which heightens the emotional investment to the story. The acting was magnificent (particularly Horn and Von Sydow), the score was touching, perfectly paced...my appreciation for this drama knows no bounds.

I'm not quite sure how to review Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close". It focuses on a number of different things at once: 9/11, Asperger's syndrome, and a quest for an answer. I understand that several reviewers found the movie exploitative in how it focused on the first two. I didn't see it that way. I guess that the gist of the movie is that sooner or later, we all must realize that it's a harsh world out there. In the protagonist's case, it took the 21st century's most famous - or infamous - event to make him realize that. As his mother reminds him, we can't always explain why these things happen.* As to the issue of whether the movie deserved its Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, I don't think that I would've nominated it. Of course, I haven't seen as many 2011 releases as I would've liked to, so I don't know what I would've nominated in its place. In the end, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and the rest turn in fine performances, so that saves the movie more than anything.*There have in fact been countless explanations as to why Osama bin Laden directed his followers to hijack the planes, but it would take too long to discuss here.

Although there was no such thing as an actual Thomas Schell who died that day, it really shows the reality of how it shatters peoples lives. With Thomas Horn playing as a boy with high functioning autism, it is a HUGE struggle to get though life even more, especially losing your father in a terror attack. That didn't stop him to look for where that key was belonged to and honestly, people like myself who have this condition are misunderstood of the way we behave towards others. Oscar really is a good role model for anyone who has this condition.Good man Jonathan Safran Foer for creating this book and of course, make it recognised as a film we know today. RIP to those who lost their lives on that faithful day <3

I think the key to a proper reception of the film is noticing, that it is not only about 9/11, and maybe mostly not about it. Instead of 9/11 any disaster that took life of boy's father could be pictured here. It would be only a background. The film is about something else (hard to choose one word to describe it, but most appropriate for me would be "the search"). Many negative reviews about the movie seem to be a result of that narrow way of seeing it. Also, boy's precise talk is not artificial - it might be a symptom of some form of Asperger syndrome, linked with his other behaviors.The film is moving and cleansing. Also, it is exciting - the search going further and further makes the outcome much desired. Worth watching.