New Hanks movie should be called ‘Extremely Long, Incredibly Preachy’

Much like the Holocaust, September 11, 2001 is one of those events that will continue to be one the darkest periods in American history. Time heals all wounds, and looking back and realizing it has been over 10 years since the tragedy reminds me that some things don't heal as quickly as I would like. I can distinctly remember where I was when I saw the horrifying footage and over the years, it hasn't gotten any easier discussing it. Historical tragedies are difficult to portray effectively on screen without coming across as pretentious or preachy. In the case of 9/11, many films have been made showcasing some of the heroic actions of average people on that fateful day. "United 93," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and others all show the heroes who did the impossible despite being in the worst of situations. I wish I could say that "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was a film that showed the emotional impact of 9/11 on the average citizen without being too schmaltzy. Unfortunately, the film uses 9/11 to manipulate the emotions of the viewer with a very sad story, but delivering it heavy-handedly and without a likeable leading character. It lacks any engagement as a viewer and over simplifies one of the most shocking and tragic events in American history. Despite being a largely fictional story, there is no excuse for a lack of imagination on the filmmaker's part, except to provide cheap and overly sentimental payoff in the hopes audiences will connect with the film. Based off the book by acclaimed author Jonathan Foer, the movie centers on a boy named Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn). Schell is a 9-year-old boy with a curious and earnest nature but is stricken with Asperger's Syndrome. He is struggling with the loss of his loving father Thomas (Tom Hanks), who had an estranged relationship with his wife (Sandra Bullock). Following Thomas's death, Schell discovers a key in one of his father's vases marked with "Black." Throughout the film, Schell travels all across New York City, desperately searching for the lock that the key belongs to in the hopes of finding something to remind him of his deceased father. Along his journey, he comes across individuals who teach him a variety of lessons and even something about himself. These individuals range from a mute World War II survivor to a woman named Black with a connection to Thomas. If this plot seems clichéd, believe me it is. In fact, the movie seemed determined to get as many cheap emotional feelings out of the audience by not only exploiting the tragedy of 9/11, but even the bombings during World War II. I might have been touched by the story if Schell was made a likeable protagonist. I do not blame the actor as this is his film debut, but I do have to blame the writers for making him overly curious and whiny to the point of being obnoxious. While the other performances are good especially Max Von Sydow as the struggling World War II survivor, they are undermined by this predictable and preachy story. The plot seems strung together in a sequence solely to make the audience either cry or care. There is no human character I can connect to, so I could not bring myself to be engaged in the story. I felt like it was exploiting 9/11 rather than showing how it affected the average American and even children who might not have understood what happened. If this did not frustrate me enough, the choice of music during the attack on the World Trade Center was typical soft piano music that did not fit. No music should have been playing, which further distanced me from the film and even angered me. I apologize if I sound like I am being too hard on this film, but I felt like I should, seeing as how I was emotionally detached from a movie about 9/11 with a main goal of both winning an Oscar and manipulating the audience into feeling sad and connected. The film dragged to a point I wanted to either fall asleep or leave, but I chose not to based on my expectation of the film getting better. Once it reached the climax, the film devolved into nothing more than traditional Hollywood exploitation of tragedy. I hate movies that try to pull at my heartstrings without a human element, and this fails on all levels. I feel that 9/11 is an event that should never be fictionalized into a feature film. It was a tragedy and if Hollywood is going to exploit it solely to make money, I consider that an insult both as a movie fan and as an American. I can completely understand people being touched by this film, especially those who have lost someone or were directly affected, but I don't think they would respond to this film lightly either.影视帝国好看的悬疑片 悬疑片排行榜 好看的综艺节目