review by Adam Cook Patron
We Need to Talk About Kevin 2011
Reviewed Feb 29, 2012
Adam Cook’s review:
Lynne Ramsay’s first film in nine years is a tricky one, both in subject matter and presentation. Everybody should be familiar with the story by now but despite the inevitability of what is to come the film still manages to shock. It is a sensationalist tale but to its credit it is not shot in a sensational or exploitative manner. In many ways it is a horror film with all the genre tropes stripped away. Instead what we get is a fragmentary film about a mother struggling with her responsibility to love her son. The film certainly raises difficult questions (is a bond between mother and child unbreakable? Does evil occur through nature or nurture? etc.) and pleasingly it doesn’t try to answer any of them. Some may find this a cop out but I think it is far more successful by trying to engage and challenge an audience rather than trying to clumsily reach for pat resolutions.
Ramsay manages to make the film shocking without actually resorting to showing any of Kevin’s acts on screen. The disjointed narrative, flashing back and forth in time, is a disorienting device that quite quickly sets you on edge. Mercifully the choppy editing is toned down as the film progresses, giving time to the family unit and how the relationships work, but it is a bold opening move that will no doubt put some people off. Tilda Swinton has deservedly been getting most of the attention for her stunning performance but Ezra Miller is brilliantly unnerving as older Kevin. It is disappointing to see John C. Reilly wasted in his role as the father but the film is very much about the mother-child relationship so there is logic to why the father is kept in the background. Although she is critically acclaimed I’ve never been a huge fan of Ramsay’s work (despite all her films being beautifully photographed) yet this feels like her most complete film to date and I look forward to what comes next.
A film that will linger in the memory thanks both to the subject matter and the execution.
"despite the inevitability of what is to come the film still manages to shock" This is so true! Also agree with Reilly being somewhat wasted.
Now I've had more time to think about it I believe Reilly's character needed to be a background figure because he would have only muddied the central relationship between mother and son.
I felt the mother and son were so emotionally detached that Reilly provided a bit role to emotionally engage and drive the audience. Particularly around the time of the incident with the daughter.
Really odd that I couldn't get into it. Most of the time I was just thinking "this is really well-done and sensitive, why am I not emotionally invested?"
@Fabian: I don't think it is odd at all. It can be quite a cold film and as detached as the mother and son are in the film. I also think the film's striking style can be a bit distancing for some people, particularly when you read the negative reviews on here.
I am glad to see there are a few of us that gave this a film a high rating. I'm surprised that more people don't read this as a horror film, which, as you suggest, I think it certainly is.
I am glad to see there are a few of us that gave this a film a high rating. I'm surprised that more people don't read this as a horror film, which, as you suggest, I think it certainly is.
I am glad to see there are a few of us that gave this a film a high rating. I'm surprised that more people don't read this as a horror film, which, as you suggest, I think it certainly is.
I apologize for the multiple posts! The site crashed as I was posting the comment and, I guess, triple posting was the result.
@travis: but now you can delete two of them :)
I can't! They happened before the great Letterboxd-comment-format-adjustment of 2013.
oh no! well at least now i know what the time limit is. 10 minutes or so!
@Travis: The film's style is very exaggerated so I do understand why some might dislike it. It is a shame though as it is definitely one of the best films of 2011.