Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Sees Tom Hanks Co-starring with Sandra Bullock

In a departure from their normal types of role, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock are set to appear together in Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, which is due for release in 2012, and which tells the story of a nine year old boy, Oskar Schell, who loses his father (Tom Hanks) in the attacks on September 11.

The film is based on the book of the same name, by Jonathan Safran Foer, which was first published in 2006.

Since the boy's father dies early on in the story, Tom Hanks is only seen in the early portions of the movie and through flashbacks to events prior to that fateful day.

The story centers around the boy, Oskar, who at nine years old has become depressed and traumatized by the events that led to his father's death.

Oskar is no ordinary boy, however. He is an amateur inventor, jewelry maker, a pacifist, and also plays the tambourine. The trauma that he has had to go through as a result of the 911 attacks, is paralleled with events that traumatized his grandparents, as they were witness to the fire-bombing of Dresden during World War Two. The role of Oskar is being played by a newcomer, Thomas Horn.

But along with the trauma that the boy has to face comes a mystery, that of a key, which his father left behind in an envelope, on which was written just the word "Black".

With the passion of a boy hunting for buried treasure, Oskar begins to explore Manhattan, searching for the lock that matches the key, and this is the central story line around which other stories and events from the past unfold.

If the movie is true to the book it will be one of those that most people either love or hate.

The boy's character may win you over or frustrate you, and as always the horrific events of 911 bring back too many bad memories for a lot of us still.

It will be interesting to see if this is a hit or not, especially given that the leading roles are to be played by Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Normally any movie by either of these Hollywood legends is top on most viewers list, and since this is the first movie that they have starred in together, one would expect it to be favorably welcomed. However, the theme of the movie might just deter a lot of people from going to see it at the theater.

Other well known stars appearing in Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close are John Goodman, James Gandolfini, Viola Davis, Johnny Yong Bosch and Jeffrey Wright.

The director is Stephen Daldry, who won a Tony award for his directing of Billy Elliot (the Musical) in 2009, and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director for his first three movies, Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader.

I for one will be curious to see what the movie is like, and although I personally find it hard still to deal with watching the events of 911, to see Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock together, plus unraveling the mystery of the key, I think that this is one movie that I will be adding to my watch list for 2012.

Like it or not, Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close could be on the hot list for Oscar nominations for 2012.

Sources:

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (IMDB)

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (Amazon)