1. The Renter - Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
The brilliance of combining young, exuberant Oskar with the melancholy old man is in the striking contrast that exists between the two. Oskar has a racing mind, with thoughts and images and anxieties tumbling past one another so quickly that he hardly has time to process them before they've flitted away. The Renter has a sense of stillness and calm, which would be comforting if it weren't a defense mechanism to help him cope with a deep emotional wound. He has taken a vow of silence, communicating only with words printed on a notepad that he carries around with him wherever he goes. But incredibly, they work together, when he volunteers to help Oskar with his Herculean task of tracking down one specific Mr Black in all of Manhattan, almost as an act of penance for some long ago sin. Long before we begin to know his situation, there's an aching sadness that fills every inch of his character. His regrets and sorrow, it seems, we can understand without words.