Discussing Room in an interview with AV Club ahead of its 2015 release, Brie explained: “I spoke with a trauma specialist about the sexual abuse and what would happen to a mind after you’ve been stuck in that space for seven years. Because it’s different than, say, a week in, you’d start to normalize some stuff.”
“Then I spoke with a nutritionist about the lack of vitamin D, about not having a toothbrush, not being able to wash your hair or face, lack of nutrition, and what that might look like,” she went on. “From there, I was able to find the fact in it, and then I could find a way to relate to it.”
But, of course, this took a physical toll on Brie’s body, with the star telling City News: “There was the physical nature of that, the lack of vitamin D, because I couldn’t go in the sun, and then on top of that working a 12-hour day. It took a lot to recoup at the end of the day; I needed a lot of sleep.”
The movie was also shot mostly in chronological order over 59 days, which meant that Brie’s first scenes were the ones that showed Ma and Jack trapped in captivity.
Then, halfway through, everything changes when Ma masterminds Jack’s escape from the room, leading to their freedom and her reuniting with her parents.