Published: 25 Apr 2023
Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Content of Critical Approaches to Film - Component 1: Film History - Section C: Ideology’ on the OCR AS-level specification’.
Lenny Abrahamson’s Room was submitted to the BBFC in November 2015 and was rated 15 for strong language, abduction theme. In this case study, we explore the film’s age rating and its classification issues.
Written by Emma Donoghue and adapted from her best-selling novel of the same name, the first part of Room explores the extraordinary everyday life of mother and son. Born in captivity, five-year-old Jack is under the blissful illusion that only the space within the confines of ‘Room’ is real; a fiction that his mother Joy created to shield her son from the knowledge that his biological father – a man they call ‘Old Nick’ – abducted her seven years before. The film later tracks Jack and Joy’s carefully orchestrated escape from their small shed-like enclosure, leading to the boy’s discovery of the outside world and his mother’s subsequent struggle to adjust to life after her abduction.
Classification Issues
Abduction Theme
The film’s central themes of abduction, abuse and trauma are brought into sharp focus in select scenes in which their abductor, Old Nick, visits ‘Room’. For example, during one of these encounters, Joy lunges at Old Nick in order to prevent her son from talking to him. In retaliation, Old Nick attempts to smother her with a pillow. Such moments of violent physical threat are often accompanied by verbal threats from Old Nick as he attempts to control his captives. The repetition of these distressing scenes make for an intense viewing experience that is often emotionally distressing. Given the realistic presentation and ongoing narrative focus on the issue of abduction throughout the film, this required a 15 age rating in accordance with our Classification Guidelines.
Sexual Violence
During research conducted in 2018, we asked people across the UK about the representation of other real-world issues, such as sexual violence and sexual threat. We found that people wanted us to classify certain depictions of rape more restrictively. Our Classification Guidelines were adjusted accordingly to reflect this shift in public expectations. At 15, our standards were updated to state that, “The stronger forms of sexual violence, including rape, must not be detailed or prolonged. An intense and sustained focus on sexual threat is unacceptable.”.
The scenes of sexual violence in Room are visually discreet and mostly implied by sound. They’re also often shot through a point-of-view perspective from the character, Jack. Forcing the audience to adopt the lens of the child during these traumatic events makes these sequences feel more immediate and frightening. While the issue is handled with great sensitivity visually, they nonetheless make for an emotionally intense and potentially distressing viewing experience. We therefore considered this issue to be appropriate for audiences 15 and above. Our extended content advice.provides a full description of these issues.
Suicide and self-harm
The film’s treatment of suicide is also reflected in our our extended content advice. However, this issue would have been acceptable at 12A. Although Joy’s suicide attempt is an upsetting sequence, particularly as she is discovered by her son Jack, there is little visual detail and the focus on the scene is on the immediate action taken by the character’s loved ones to save her, making this particular presentation of the issue acceptable at 12A.
Language
Other classification issues in Room include several uses of strong language (‘f**k’) that require a 15 age rating, as well as milder terms and a brief drug reference.
Discussion Points
Room is rated 15 for strong language, abduction theme. Do you agree with the rating? Justify your response using our Classification Guidelines.
Why do you think the filmmaker chose to shoot many of the film’s stronger moments from the point of view of a child? What impact does this have on the audience? Do you think it lessens the impact of what you see on screen?
Our research tells us that people respond more strongly to depictions of threats that feel ‘more real’ or ‘relatable’. Do you agree? Why do you think this is? Consider the difference between realism and fantasy in your response.
Recommended Viewing
The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson, 2011) 12
Normal People (Lenny Abrahamson, 2020) 15
Moxie (Amy Poehler, 2021) 12
