This is not a story about September 11th, it's a story about every day after.
Overview
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.8/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.13/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 45%
Metacritic: 46
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Stephen Daldry
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions
Cast
Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Caldwell, Max von Sydow, Dennis Hearn, Paul Klementowicz, Julian Tepper, Caleb Reynolds, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lorna Guity Pruce, Hazelle Goodman, Bernadette Drayton, David Latham, Marty Krzywonos, Jim Norton, Carmen M. Herlihy
Curator Review
Verdict
A sincere grief drama with a strong cast, but it is widely seen as emotionally manipulative, tonally clumsy, and reductive in how it handles trauma and neurodivergence. Unless you specifically want a highly sentimental post-9/11 prestige drama, there are better films for this emotional territory.
Best for
Viewers who like earnest, tearful prestige dramas
Fans of child-centered grief stories
People curious about controversial Best Picture nominees
Skip if
You’re sensitive to heavy-handed 9/11 imagery
You want nuanced or subtle writing about autism/neurodivergence
You dislike obvious Oscar-bait melodrama
Overview
Stephen Daldry’s film is built around a child’s grief-fueled mystery, and it clearly wants to be a tender portrait of loss, memory, and connection. The performances are committed, especially from the supporting cast, and the movie has a polished, awards-season sheen that makes its emotional intentions unmistakable.
Worth noting
The problem is that the film often pushes too hard. Its use of 9/11 as a backdrop feels exploitative to many viewers, and its depiction of Oskar’s behavior has been criticized as simplistic and insensitive. Instead of deepening the story, the movie’s broad sentimentality can make it feel manipulative and overdetermined.
Bottom line
For some audiences, the sincerity will still land, and the scavenger-hunt structure gives the film a clear emotional engine. But as a whole, it’s a case where craft and intention don’t fully overcome the sense that the movie is reaching for catharsis in a way that feels forced rather than earned.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Silent J (0.5★) · 480 likes
aka"Tom Hanks and His Fuckwit Son Play 9/11"
You remember that one episode of Family Guy where Lois found out the only thing she had to do to become Mayor was making the easily manipulated agree with her on topics like "9/11 was bad?"
That was more subtle than this shit storm.
Tom Hanks should have fucking better known better.
You too Max Von Sydow.
James Bond should have warned Felix Leiter about taking part in such shit.
Sandra… more
Ross Maclean (2★) · 389 likes
9/11 porn for the easily manipulated.
DirkH (0.5★) · 316 likes
After the closing credits, I felt like Marcellus Wallace and was ready to get mediaeval on this film's ass.
Now, I always try to keep the swearing to a minimum when writing a review, but fuck that, this film pisses me off too much. Foer's novel is one of the most impressive novels I read in the past ten years. It is a story about history, human connections, family, loss, grief all seen through the eyes of an autistic boy.… more
jeremy (4★) · 190 likes
omg i'm sad to see that this film was overly criticized (both by some critics and film fans). i completely understand if some people see the child who was the main character as somewhat annoying but i think it's a compliment cause he perfectly portrayed a character of a troubled young boy who struggles to make sense with his father's death and move forward in life with what's left behind for him. i really don't know if he was on… more omg i'm sad to see that this film was overly criticized (both by some critics and film fans). i completely understand if some people see the child who was the main character as somewhat annoying but i think it's a compliment cause he perfectly portrayed a character of a troubled young boy who struggles to make sense with his father's death and move forward in life with what's left behind for him. i really don't know if he was on… more
liam f (3★) · 165 likes
strongly recommend watching this on a laptop that's extremely loud and incredibly close for the full effect