Most stories about 9/11 cover the national tragedy from the perspective of the day it happened. Everyone remembers what happened on that individual day – where they were, what they were doing – because it affected the country as a whole.

It is much harder, however, to focus on the colossal aftermath from a personal level. “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, makes the attempt, telling an extraordinary 9/11 story from a child’s perspective. But the film’s adaptation to the screen makes it just that — an attempt.

The movie is told through the eyes of Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) a 9-year-old boy. Oskar appears to be borderline-Asperger’s, suffering from crippling anxiety, compulsive tendencies and poor social skills. Only his father, Thomas (Tom Hanks), can successfully tap into his systematic mind.

To both bond with his son and force Oskar to interact with others, Thomas creates elaborate stories and challenges around their home city of New York. Those excursions end abruptly the day the towers collapse, claiming Thomas as one of the thousands of 9/11 victims.

A year after his father’s death, Oskar finds a key in his father’s closet, kept in an envelope with the word “Black” written on it. Oskar believes the quest to find the key’s lock is his father’s final adventure left for him to complete, and proceeds to try and track down every person in New York with the last name Black.

Oskar’s precocious and hilariously uninhibited personality will make you either love him or hate him. His disregard of social norms, urge to carry a tambourine everywhere and intrusive questions can come across as harsh and creepy or bold and amusing.

Horn does an excellent job of bringing the audience inside an autistic child’s complex mind. As an actor, he is hilariously sharp, yet also able to create powerful, emotionally jarring moments that leave the audience weeping along with the characters.

And it is the characters who keep the story memorable and interesting. Hanks embodies a loving father, motivated by his ability to think critically and see the world from Oskar’s perspective. Sandra Bullock, who plays Oskar’s mother Linda, effectively portrays the incomprehensible effort it takes to connect to her character’s emotionally-detached child.

It is both painfully sad and touching to watch Oskar running around New York, meeting strangers along the way. However, it seemed like most of the strangers Oskar encountered were a little too friendly, defying realistic expectations.

Many of them invite Oskar into their homes and appear not to be bothered by his intrusive, demanding nature, instead choosing to help the boy on his futile quest. The movie glamorizes New York and makes it seem completely safe for a 9-year-old to be wandering around the city by himself, perhaps a testament to the sense of community in New York post-9/11.

At the end of the film, Oskar writes letters to all the people with the name “Black” that he met. He thanks them for their help and says he has found peace with his father’s death. A touching sentiment, yet it would have been more effective if the other characters were explored on a deeper level. Oskar visits dozens of people, yet we have no idea who they were.

The movie ends with a hopeful notion, begging to promote a universal feeling about New York. It tries to present the idea that the city is completely healed after 9/11, but it does not work. The story is clearly Oskar’s story, and it cannot try to be every New Yorker’s.

Fans of the original book may also be disappointed that the movie took the its basic plot and characters and manipulated them like a work of internet fanfiction. A huge part of the book’s perspective comes from Oskar’s grandparents, yet the story of how Oskar’s grandparents dealt with the Dresden bombings – the parallel tragedy of their generation – was missing in the film.

The feeling of overcoming tragedy was gone. Expanding the story into the lives of the other characters could have filled the emotional hole that made “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” feel disappointingly empty.