when Jack asks to breastfeed and Ma says “No,” very firmly. She then explains, “There’s none left.”

When Old Nick arrives in Room one night with groceries, and Ma makes a comment about them needing a better diet, Old Nick responds by berating her for complaining, and telling her that she should be grateful for what he provides. She has no idea, he rails, about how hard things are out in the world. He confesses that he lost his job, and she visibly panics. She asks, very simply, “What are you going to do about it?” The whole macabre scene plays out like they are an unhappily married couple from the 1950s, which hits the viewer like a punch to the gut.

As Ma and Jack enact her plan to fake the child’s death, we hear Old Nick exhibit a modicum of empathy...

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