The 5 biggest differences between the ‘Room’ book and movie
Room has come to life. The movie, which is generating Oscar buzz and wowing audiences and critics alike, follows a woman (played by Brie Larson) and her young son (Jacob Tremblay) held captive in a tiny room for years before they escape and try to adjust to the world. And although it’s a faithful adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s best-selling novel (the author herself scripted the movie), it does have some significant differences from its source material. USA TODAY’s Kelly Lawler runs down the five biggest changes from page to screen.
1.
MA DOESN’T BREASTFEED JACK AS MUCH.
In the book, the fact that Ma still nurses 5-year-old Jack is a big plot point (Jack, the narrator, always thinks about how he wants “some”), but in the movie, it’s only alluded to.
2.
MA IS TWO YEARS YOUNGER.
In the book, she is abducted when she is 19 and in college, but the movie changes that to 17 and still living at home with her parents.
3.
THE TIMELINE OF THE GREAT ESCAPE IS CONDENSED.
In the book, there are two violent encounters with captor Old Nick leading up to Ma’s decision that she and Jack have to finally escape Room (the name they give the garden shed where they are held). The movie combines the circumstances of both into one and then sets the pair on the path to escape much more quickly.
4.
MA LIVES WITH HER MOTHER AFTER THE GREAT ESCAPE.
In the book, Ma goes straight from a psychiatric clinic to her and Jack’s independent-living apartment. In the movie, she goes home to her mother’s house first, then returns to the hospital after her suicide attempt. 5.
MA IS AN ONLY CHILD AND NEVER HAD A STILLBIRTH. One of the biggest changes in the movie is that Ma never had another pregnancy while she was in Room. In the book, Ma delivers a stillborn girl before she has Jack, but in the movie Jack is it. Also, her brother Paul, his wife and their daughter don’t exist in the movie.