Stockholm, Pennsylvania (2015) Reviews

• Riveting, Deliberate, Uncomfortable Must-See

  johnnyhightest2015-05-14

  Leanne/Leia (Saoirse Ronan) is a young woman who has had two crimes committed against her: she was stolen from her family, and she was robbed of a soul. She was kidnapped as a young child and confined to a windowless room by a kind but deranged stranger (Jason Isaacs) who raised her on lies and subtle influences to make her believe he was her only hope in life (hence the title "Stockholm" Pennsylvania). For obvious reasons, he intended to limit her understanding of the outside world and subsequently rendered her incapable of handling life beyond his walls. Then it happens that Leia is freed and returned to her biological parents. It should be a happy, joyful reunion; unfortunately, it is anything but. I'm a huge fan of Saoirse Ronan. She thrilled me in Hanna and ripped my guts out in the Lovely Bones. In this movie she has to play it down, as her character is emotionally stunted from captivity and psychically overwhelmed by the real world. She does a wonderful job as the detached escapee, conveying a wide range of emotions just with those big blue eyes and also with her control of subtle facial expressions. Cynthia Nixon is also outstanding as the mother, who not only has to accept her own daughter's alienation of affection but also the horrible reality that Leia cannot accept her new situation. She and her flummoxed husband (David Warshofsky) struggle to rekindle the warmth and congeniality of a familial bond that has never really had a chance to exist, while battling with issues that no parent would ever want to have. Strong praise for writer/director Nikole Beckwith for composing a riveting (if at times deliberately slow-paced) depiction of a true tragedy. Her scenes are at times difficult to endure, but the story is excellent.

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• Lack of storytelling

  DogFilmCritic2015-10-13

  There are some interesting ideas in this movie sadly they were not implemented... "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" a young woman kidnapped at 4 and kept in a basement for 18 years is reunited with the parents she doesn't remember,the child-kidnapping genre usually it focuses on the victim and the abductor and ends when the subject is found.This film had a more original spin and focused on the after math.I give the film points for originality, one usually does not see this part we only see the victim's arms wrapped around their parents and the credits start to roll. Leia is deeply attached to the mild-mannered end-of-days cultist (Jason Isaacs, in a very small role) who kidnapped her and cut her off from the outside world. But that enforced seclusion also means that at 22 she's facing the childhood challenges and embarrassments of learning how to operate in the adult world.all this sounds like a filmmaker's dream protect. Sadly it takes a turn we put ourselves in the shoes of the mother although her intentions are good, she becomes extremely obsessive to get her daughter back to the point that her actions are not so different from the kidnapper,that's when the film loses me,it becomes unrealistic, it is an obsession to achieve her daughters love at all costs. Strong performances from Saoirse Ronan and Cynthia Nixon, they manage to get the high points of the movie,I leaned more to Emma Donaghue's compelling 2010 novel Room, which developed far more bracing and psychologically nuanced drama out of a similar scenario of shut-ins readjusting to an unknown world.

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• Intense, uncomfortable, creepy and sad

  juneebuggy2015-12-07

  This was pretty good. Cynthia Nixon and Saoirse Ronan give strong, really raw performances here which is in part what keeps it so watchable. They play mother and daughter who have been separated for 18 years after 'Leanne' was kidnapped as a 4 year old and kept locked in a windowless basement. She is eventually reunited with her parents but of course doesn't remember them as well as having been psychologically damaged by her captor (the awesome Jason Isaacs). I found the movie intense and absorbing as well as sad, uncomfortable and even creepy -especially the ending. It's a bit slow at times as character studies tend to be and I guess along the lines of 'Room' which has a similar scenario and plot of readjusting to an unknown world. Leanne's story (or time with Ben her kidnapper) is brought to light slowly in ongoing flashbacks showing her at different ages in her room. Ben has of course been her world, her entire life for all of her formative years and she is not really capable of functioning without him, she is damaged. The story takes an interesting turn when her mother Cynthia locks her back in her childhood room and essentially trues to reprogram her. A true tragedy 11/22/15

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• deadening

  SnoopyStyle2017-07-13

  Leia (Saoirse Ronan) was abducted by stranger Benjamin McKay (Jason Isaacs) at the age of four. She lived in the basement believing the world had ended. After 17 years of isolation, she is reunited with her birth parents (Cynthia Nixon, David Warshofsky). She struggles to acclimate to them who are essentially strangers and even her real name Leanne. Her mother can't leave her by herself and is desperate to connect to her. The marriage is falling apart. Dr. Andrews (Rosalind Chao) is Leia's therapist. Director Nikole Beckwith strips away any flash or music. The colors are washed out. It is deliberately quiet at times. It leaves the movie feeling dead for the first half. Saoirse is able to maintain interest by her sheer presence. Leia takes a turn around the midpoint. It's a big risk and it becomes bursts of overwrought awkwardness. She needs a connection outside of the situation. The obvious comparison is Room which is more cinematic and has more "life". This is trying to walk down the same path but not as scenic. The two women produce a compelling battle but I'm not sure if it's worthwhile.

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• **

  edwagreen2016-10-14

  An absolutely brooding piece where a girl is returned home 17 years after her abduction. It's as if there is a brick wall standing between the girl and anyone she deals with. Hesitant but universally religious, she has this wall around here when she speaks and it appears that she is either in isolation or totally spaced out. Kept in a basement, she still harbors feelings for the man who abducted her and even goes so far to visit him in jail. Saiorise Ronan and Cynthia Nixon are both excellent as daughter and mother, respectively. The father is a more upbeat type and is much more optimistic than the Nixon character. You can actually feel the tension in the air, but you would want the film to break out more, possibly with other characters.

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