--- title: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close" critics_score: 44 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): what the critics said Critics' score 44 from 17 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 10 negative. Most critics do not like this film, and many dislike it a good deal. Ten of seventeen reviews are negative, and the complaint is much the same each time: Daldry’s adaptation treats grief after the 9/11 attacks as an occasion for sentiment rather than reflection, and the boy’s quest across New York with a key strikes them as contrived and cute. Where there is praise, it lands on the cast. Thomas Horn’s performance as Oskar is singled out by several reviews as natural and matter-of-fact, and Max von Sydow and Sandra Bullock are credited with steadying the supporting scenes. The spread is wide. The Los Angeles Times and The Wrap find the film moving and its handling of loss humane; The AV Club and The Guardian consider it preposterous and mawkish, and the former gives it a failing grade. Even admirers concede Daldry lays the sentiment on thick, and Horn divides opinion, with some finding his idiosyncrasies grating rather than endearing. ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2011. Daldry sensitively adapts the story through a precocious boy's eyes, balancing sentiment and substance while exploring grief and healing on a human level. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-dec-23-la-et-extremely-loud-20111223-story.html) ## Film Comment — Nicolas Rapold Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2012. The film is a surprisingly engaging adaptation of the novel about a precocious boy dealing with his father's death in the 9/11 attacks. Its chief strength is the passionate portrayal by newcomer Thomas Horn as the boy Oskar. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2011. The film is an affecting, well-acted tale of 9/11 trauma centered on a boy's quest to process his father's death. The standout element is the exceptional natural performance by young lead Thomas Horn. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-film-274943/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2011. The movie treats 9/11 as kitsch rather than occasion for mourning or reflection, turning the boy's quest into a sentimental journey through New York aided by its people. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/movies/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-with-tom-hanks-review.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 January 2012. The film is contrivance and folderol built around a boy's improbable quest across New York with a key and tambourine. It fails to provide plausible or meaningful catharsis for 9/11. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-2012) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 2011. The film is seen as a preening and contrived exercise in manipulative poignancy, overly mannered despite skilled craft and strong supporting performances, existing mainly to elicit feelings rather than tell a story. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/5035910.article) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 23 September 2011. The critic finds the adaptation overly sentimental and platitudinous in its account of trauma, offering a cutesy fantasy of New York rather than a genuine exploration of communication and loss. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/extremely-loud-incredibly-close) ## Slant Magazine — R. Kurt Osenlund Rating 1/4. 23 December 2011. The film is a needlessly self-important and hugely artificial post-9/11 weepie that buries its soul beneath pretentious rubble. The critic singles out the grating, contrived idiosyncrasies of the child protagonist and the shameless, predestined melodrama for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 1/5. 16 February 2012. The critic finds the film a contrived and preposterous mawkish fantasy that belittles the impact of 9/11 through its sentimental treatment of the boy's quest. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/16/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-review) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2012. The critic describes the film as a shameless tearjerker that relentlessly ratchets up the pathos around a young boy's 9/11-related quest but ultimately leaves the viewer unmoved and resistant. It singles out the manipulative emotional design, over-cute elements, and lack of genuine engagement with its subject for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-review-7446891.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating F. 22 December 2011. The adaptation is an appalling, nauseatingly precious treatment of 9/11 grief that feels both too literary and too sentimental. The critic singles out the cloying conceit of the boy's quest and the overly tasteful yet manipulative direction and score for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-1798170983) ## The Wrap — Leah Rozen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2011. The critic calls the film a moving drama about one boy's efforts to make sense of his father's death in the 9/11 attacks, praising the streamlined adaptation from the novel and strong performances, particularly the eccentric but effective work by newcomer Thomas Horn along with Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and Max von Sydow. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/review-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-healing-33878/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 24 December 2011. The critic finds the film ultimately moving thanks to Daldry's direction, which makes the odd elements and 9/11 backdrop work together for an emotional impact, despite an off-putting child performance initially. [Read the review](https://collider.com/extremly-loud-incredibly-close-review/) ## Den of Geek — Carley Tauchert Rating 3/5. 9 February 2012. The beautifully shot and acted drama hits emotions repeatedly but lacks soul in addressing the tragic subject. It is a good, solid drama that honors the grief process but leaves one thinking more about real events than the fictional characters. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 3/5. 13 February 2012. Daldry lays it on thick with sentiment but the newcomer Thomas Horn provides a saving grace with his matter-of-fact performance that helps cut through the saccharine. The journey is engaging but long, uneven, and undermined by overly tidy resolutions. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a364825/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-review/) ## Eye for Film — Donald Munro Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 17 February 2012. The critic finds a good film buried under excessive sentiment, self-indulgence, and unnecessary length. They single out the strong performances by Max von Sydow and Sandra Bullock for praise, while noting the contrived plot and stereotypical portrayal of the protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/extremely-loud-incredibly-close-film-review-by-donald-munro) ## Paste — Ani Vrabel Rating 5.8. 29 December 2011. The film relies too heavily on sentimentality about 9/11 and loss without sufficient character development or storytelling merit, resulting in a disappointing adaptation that feels annoying rather than endearing. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close.md