Ma (Larson) is trying to raise her son Jack (Tremblay) with the utmost love and devotion. But there are significant barriers to his enjoying a normal childhood. For several years, since being abducted and raped as a teenager, Ma has been imprisoned in a small room. This room is the only world that Jack has ever known. Now, as he turns 5, she plots a daring escape from their captor, not knowing what awaits them on the outside even if they succeed.

Adapted by Emma Donoghue from her best-selling novel, Abrahamson’s “Room” is by turns terrifying and unexpectedly poignant . The intense love between Ma and Jack registers strongly despite the horror of their claustrophobic surroundings. Tremblay is a revelation as the wild child naïf thrust into a bewildering new life, and Larson won an Oscar for her bold portrayal of Ma. With three more Academy nominations to prove it, Abrahamson’s harrowing drama is an absorbing work of physical and emotional release.