Poster art for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 46 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 90
    Boxoffice Magazine | Pete Hammond

    It's an emotional powerhouse of a film, an unforgettable and rewarding motion picture experience. Read full review

  • 88
    ReelViews | James Berardinelli

    Director Stephen Daldry has fashioned an emotionally powerful cinematic testimony about that horrific late summer day. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy

    Best of all, von Sydow is absolutely wonderful, with the great veteran actor clearly relishing this very unusual role as he darts, skulks and, in a stealthy way, mugs across town. Without saying a thing, he dominates the middle part of the movie. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey

    Director Stephen Daldry has taken great care in looking at it through the eyes of a precocious New York City boy in a film filled with both sentiment and substance. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    A polarizing load of quirkiness in Extremely Loud gunks up (at least for this hometown mourner; your results may vary) what is at heart a piercing story. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    No movie has ever been able to provide a catharsis for the Holocaust, and I suspect none will ever be able to provide one for 9/11. Such subjects overwhelm art. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry must walk a tricky line between poignancy and pathos. He occasionally slips into maudlin turf. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety |

    With its re-enactments of that fateful day, Extremely Loud plays a bit too much like one of those perfectly lit, heart-tugging segments TV networks air during the Olympics. It hardly matters that Horn manages to give such a naturalistic, unmannered performance as the young Oskar when everything around him has been so deliberately orchestrated to provoke a specific reaction. Read full review

  • 50
    Village Voice | Nick Pinkerton

    Such an abundance of "epiphanies," one after another, amount to a tactical assault on viewer sentiments. The deluge of tears is Daldry's idea of pathos, but to these eyes, it's Oscar-trolling 9/11 kitsch. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Yes, you may cry, but when tears are milked as they are here, the truer response should be rage. Read full review

View more reviews for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Drama about child's 9/11 loss stirs up sadness.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer about an 11-year-old with Asperger's syndrome (or something very similar to it) who loses his father in the Sept. 11 attacks -- and how he copes with the loss a year later. Some scenes include graphic 9/11 imagery and news clips and may be too intense for young children. (If you watch with your teens, it's a good idea to have a conversation about 9/11 beforehand.) There's also some swearing (including "f--k") and drinking. Although the film centers around loss and tragedy, many adult characters are strong role models, and there's a message about learning to accept the answers that life gives you.
  • Families can talk about the movie's subject matter. Teens: What do you know about 9/11? How do you think the events of that day affected the children who lost their parents and/or other relatives?
  • How does the media usually portray/deal with 9/11-related stories? How does this movie compare to other depictions you've seen?
  • Why is Oskar so bent on finding the object that the key unlocks? What does it mean for him?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: The film's most basic message is this: Life might not make a lot of sense, but does it have to? We may never get the answers to our questions that we expect, but the answers do come, and they can be instructive, even wise.
  • rolemodels true4 Positive role models: For a film about deep tragedy and chaos, the movie has wonderful role models: Oskar's father is creative and whimsical and cares for him very much; his mother allows him to be himself, proudly; his grandmother is supportive and non-judgmental. Even an old man who becomes part of their family in a strange way proves to be empathetic. Oskar comes across as insensitive, but it's hinted that he has Asperger's syndrome, which sometimes makes it difficult for him to recognize and respond to emotions.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: The movie's story centers on 9/11, and the graphic images from that day are shown: the twin towers with billowing smoke, people falling from the buildings, relatives receiving panic-stricken and heartfelt phone calls from trapped loved ones. Also, in a fit of anger, a child starts thrashing around and hitting anything in his way. He also yells at adults and sometimes comes across as insolent and disrespectful, when really he's hurting and is unable to process his emotions.
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false3 Language: Infrequent use of "dipsh--t," "d--k," and "a--hole," sometimes by a child. Also "oh God" as an exclamation, plus words that sound like "s--t" and "f--k" but aren't.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Labels seen/mentioned include Dymo, Wild Turkey, Juicy Juice, Nokia, AT&T, Barney Greengrass, Fig Newtons, and Fairway.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some adult characters drink liquor in moments of stress.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Exclusive Features

Cast Interview Exclusive Cast Interview Thomas Horn talks about working with Tom Hanks while Sandra Bullock discusses hearing real 9/11 voice messages left behind by thouse who died.