Film: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (12A)

Director: Stephen Daldry

Get your tissues ready, you’ll most likely need a balsam maxi pack by the time you get through this tender drama. Young Thomas Horn plays the nine-year-old central figure of Oskar in this tale of searching, remembering and loss that will most likely resonate strongly across the USA with its strong ties to the tragedies that took place on 9/11.

Oskar’s father is Tom Hanks, his mother Sandra Bullock. Oskar adores his father and as close as the pair are you can already taste the heart-wrench about to take place. Yes, turns out Dad, aka Thomas, works on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center and so loss is not far away. Oskar is left with a heart-shaped key of his father’s, but what it opens is anybody’s guess and thus Oskar’s quest to find it somewhere in New York.

Touted around the independent film festivals, the young star has already collected several awards, with director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliott and The Hours) and supporting actor Max von Sydow (The Exorcist and Shutter Island) also receiving nods for the quality of their work. It remains to be seen if it pulls exactly all the right heartstrings to hit big at the Oscars and BAFTAs, but in the meantime offers up a lovely tale of a family and city in recovery.

Released Friday 17 February
Showing at Odeon and Cineworld