Brie Larson Goes Into the ‘Room,’ Lenny Abrahamson’s Captivity Drama Based on the Bestseller

Brie Larson had a big year in 2013, receiving rave reviews and even an Indie Spirit nomination for her role in Destin Cretton’s “Short Term 12.” And she’s now on board Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room,” based on the bestseller by Emma Donahue (who also penned the adaptation).

Larson will star as Ma, a young woman who has been in captivity since her kidnapping as a teenager. She lives in a small room with her five-year-old son (who, in the novel, narrates); a man named Old Nick is their captor. The book was loosely based on the 2008 case of an Austrian woman, 24-year-old Elisabeth Frizl, who escaped captivity in a basement after having given birth to seven children while being held prisoner there.

Abrahamson’s 2014 band comedy-drama “Frank,” which debuted at Sundance and is best known for starring Michael Fassbender wearing a giant, fake head, is one of the strongest titles of the year so far. Count us excited for whatever he’s got on the upcoming docket.

Meanwhile, Larson also has Judd Apatow’s “Trainwrecked,” “The Gambler” opposite Mark Wahlberg and DreamWorks’ “The Good Luck of Right Now” in the works.