Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The movie “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was directed by Stephen Daldry in 2011, and it is about a child who has recently lost his father on September 11.

A nine-year-old Oskar Schell has Asperger syndrome. At the beginning of the movie, there are many scenes between Oskar and his father Thomas. They play so many games which are generally related to finding a secret place. Thomas claims that New York has a sixth borough, and he and his son Oskar try to find that place. Then, Thomas died on September 11. For a year, Thomas cannot go to his father’s room or touch his property. After the trauma that started with her husband’s death, Oskar’s mother Linda is depressed throughout the entire movie. A year later, Oskar finds an envelope that has a key inside a broken vase on the property of his father. The word “Black” is written on the envelope. Oskar tries to find who this “Black” is and also what is the thing that the key can unlock.

Oskar goes to every person in New York City whose last name is Black and asks them whether they know his father and the key or not. He first goes to Abby Black’s house but cannot learn anything and then goes to too many places and meets too many Blacks. He goes out every morning and comes home every night in secret from his mother. Across their apartment, his grandmother lives and she has an old renter in her house. Oskar’s grandmother says to him that he should stay away from the renter; however, the renter who cannot talk and Oskar becomes friends and they try to find the secret of the key together. One day Oskar realizes that the renter is actually his grandfather. They argued and the renter left his apartment. Then Oskar discovers a phone number on the property of his father. He thinks that this may be related to the key, so he calls the number. The person who answered the phone was Abby Black who Oscar went in the first place. It is understood that Abby’s ex-husband William Black is the one whom Oskar tries to find. William and Thomas have never met but William sold him the vase whose key is in it. The key is William’s. Oskar writes letters to every person he meets throughout the movie.

The main character in the movie is Oskar Schell who is nine years old. He is a student but there are not many scenes in a school setting. He has no friends in school. In a scene in which they are on the way from the school on December 11, a child called him “spastic”. He has just one friend, the renter who is very old. Oskar lives with his father and his mother. He does not have a girlfriend. At the beginning of the movie, he has a close relationship with his father. After his death, Oscar deals with trauma. In developmental history, we see his childhood is full of games with his father. He pinches himself. There are many little scars on his body. He does not have any legal records. He is a very clever child, but he has so many fears and phobias such as bridges, running people, airplanes, or loud things. He has not a drug abuse. Going out alone and meeting with strangers are some risk-taking behaviors for a nine-year-old child. He is aggressive and uses bad language when he gets really angry. He knows so many things about some animals or scientific facts. He does a lot of research. He is also obsessive in organizing the findings from Blacks.

In the movie, there is no clear statement that he has Asperger syndrome, he only mentions in a scene that he is tested for that but the results are indeterminate. However, some of his phobias and fears, and his attitudes can be symptoms of the syndrome. Another character, Oskar’s mother, Linda also deals with the trauma. She has depression. In the movie, she is very stable and cries so much. Loss of interest and depressed mood are seen clearly. However, in the later of the movie, we see that she knows about her son’s journeys and visits Blacks before her son does. Her age and occupation of her does not mentioned in the movie; however, she looks forty. The other character, the renter is very old, and looks seventy. The name of him is never mentioned. He does not talk because of a traumatic experience. He is very calm. He does not have any friends or relationships. He was in a bomb shelter with his parents when he was a child. When the bomb exploded, his parents died. He has a wife and son but is afraid of being a father, so he leaves his family. Eventually, it is understood that he is Oskar’s grandfather, in other words, Thomas’ father. 

The relationship between Oskar and his father helps Oskar in many ways to deal with the Asperger’s Disorder. Even after his father's death, he develops himself.

I strongly recommend this movie to understand Asperger’s Disorder better. This movie is also great for technical aspects which is another topic. Enjoy watching!