I had heard quite a bit about this one and finally got around to checking it out. After all of the praise I had heard for this film and now having seen it, I gotta be honest and say that I expected a bit more...
The storyline centers around a woman trying to get her life back on track after a tragic outburst of violence led to the loss of her family and landing her teenage son in prison. She gets a job at a travel agency and lives in a dingy little house that is vandalized and terrorized by neighborhood kids. Clearly, she's the subject of wide-spread ostracism throughout the town in the wake of this devastation. The film frequently cuts to her and her husband raising their first child, Kevin, who won't stop crying anytime Mommy picks him up. As he grows, he seems to get along fine with Daddy, but holds strong resentment toward his mother. Seems, though, that the feeling is mutual. Kevin wears a diaper up until he's 8-years old just to spite his mom, fucks up her art room and is just an all-around disrespectful little shit. As he grows and the parents give birth to a daughter, things only get more and more out of control within their upscale homestead until Kevin finally snaps...
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" goes for a more subtle and 'realistic' take on the whole 'evil kid' thing. It's very dilatory and tactful in what it shows and how it handles it's more "heavy" themes that are certainly all-too prevalent in real life these days. That's all fine and dandy, though I just didn't find the way in which they conveyed this material all that deep and compelling. It's just TOO slow and the layout of the story is really jumbled and arbitrary. After seeing this kid's developmental burden on his family and all of his disgraceful acts of meanness aimed at them, I was kinda hoping for a bit of a stronger outcome to this "build". To me, the movie was just missing that big emotional element that could REALLY have left a lasting impression. It just felt thin and we never really get into the minds of these characters as much as we probably SHOULD have. Tilda Swinton is the most interesting figure in this movie and gives a really good performance considering her character seemed underdeveloped to me. And one last thing - what the fuck was John C. Reilly doing in this? Talk about miscast! Sorry John, but even when you take on these big, dramatic roles I'm STILL just seeing Dr. Steve Brule.
So that's just MY take on "We Need to Talk About Kevin". I feel like they pretty much missed the boat with this one...
Don't get your sociopathic kid a bro & arrow... for your health!
ReplyDeleteI liked this movie a lot because I hate ugly women with short hair, and I hate kids. This chick would have had a perfect life if she just DIDN'T do 2 things. Don't cut your hair and don't have kids. I didn't need a big pay-off because I just savored every minute of this woman's relentless grief, suffering, and abuse by the community. All because she just HAD to have a stupid fucking kid. I think this should be required viewing for all expectant mothers, and also at hair salons across the country.
I completely agree. This flick should be screened to all the broads with that ridiculous "mommy" gleam in their eye. Dumb, misguided sluts. And yes, the most satisfying aspect of this movie WAS the dyke-haired 'psycho-breeder' getting constantly fucked with by a small, diaper-shitting child, feeling like shit about birthing a mass murderer, and, of course, getting socked right in the fucking face by some old lady. From that standpoint, I can definitely see where you're coming from.
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