Director Stephen Daldry, of The Reader fame, has returned with his next novel adaptation, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The story follows former Jeopardy! champion Thomas Horn as Oskar Schell, an intelligent, albeit odd, nine-year old on his quest for answers after his father’s death on 9/11.

After a year of grief and growing disconnection from his mother, played by Sandra Bullock, Oskar reenters his father’s room for the first time and finds a key in an envelope labeled “Black”.

From there the audience accompanies Oskar all over New York City in search of the right Black, sometimes joined by the mysterious and silent “Renter”, played by Max von Sydow. Sydow’s performance, while silent, is easily one of the best of the film. His silence is intriguing and his expressiveness more than makes up for his lack of words.

Between the subject matter, the people he meets, and the ending (I won’t spoil it for you), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is most definitely a tear-jerker. However, the movie doesn’t just play on the audience’s emotions; it is legitimately moving.

What I witnessed at the end of the film is a testament to that. As the movie ended and the screen went to black, the theater remained completely silent. Throughout about 5 minutes of credits, not a single person moved. I sat there grasping everything I had just seen, thinking on the movie’s messages and drying tears, and I can only assume everyone else was doing the same.

Overall, I would definately recommend going to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It’s good acting paired with a good story and absolutely worth a watch; just don’t forget tissues.