There is something to be said—and it’s hard to say if it’s positive or negative—about a film that can simultaneously annoy you and make you feel like weeping. Steven Daldry’s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” does just that.

The premise of the film revolves around a young boy named Oskar (Thomas Horn) and the story of how he deals with the trauma of losing his father (Tom Hanks, who we see in Oskar’s memories through flashbacks) in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Oskar is the audience’s guide throughout the entire movie, narrating his journey from “the worst day” until the end of the film. Along the way, viewers have a sort of love/hate relationship with Oskar, as he is a socially awkward character that was obviously written to bounce from pushy and obnoxious to bereaved and confused. A year after his father’s death, Oskar finds a key in the closet in an envelope marked with the name “Black.” He spends the rest of the movie on a tireless search to find the correct Black and discover what the key unlocks.

As the movie progresses, it’s clear that the search is becoming more desperate, and Oskar feels that he is losing what little connection he has with his father. His heart-wrenching monologues where he explains his story to a mysterious mute character called The Renter are genuine and well done, and allow the viewer the necessary moments of catharsis needed in a film filled with so much emotional turmoil.

Any storyline that involves 9/11 can be touchy, and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is no different; the mixture of sadness and complete oddity of the characters and situation in which they have been placed is sometimes difficult to comprehend and even seems to trivialize 9/11.

It’s an odd storyline with odd characters; Daldry admittedly had a lot of strange material to work with and clearly took some artistic interpretations of the content of the novel. Despite the occasional hiccup in characterization, Oskar’s mother (Sandra Bullock) gives the film a real dose of honest and genuine emotion that grounds the storyline when it starts to fly away.

While there are many parts of the film that can be quibbled over for the blatant disregard and manipulation of a national tragedy, overall the film interpretation stands as its own unique take on an incredible storyline and a beautiful journey of understanding and healing.