Little Children Review

"Little Children" reviews

Movie

Little Children

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-06-22 21:10:53

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Although thought-provoking and full of outstanding performances, Little Children still can't escape a little of the same ambivalence that traps its suburban characters.

Story

Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, Little Children at first feels like a dark, satirical comedy about life in the suburbs. Sarah (Kate Winslet) doesn't fit in with the other moms who gather in the park each day, eagerly exchanging gossip and parenting tips. For one thing, Sarah's just not that into being a mother--she sees her preschool-aged daughter as an ''unknowable little person.'' But the larger problem is that bookish, intellectual Sarah feels stagnant and alone in the land of white picket fences. That changes when she meets Brad (Patrick Wilson), a reluctantly aspiring lawyer/stay-at-home dad. As the two forge a friendship rippling with sexual tension, Little Children loses its satirical edge in favor of emotional drama, shifting between Sarah and Brad's story and a subplot about a tormented sex offender. By the time everything comes together, all of them have changed irrevocably.

Acting

Winslet is already getting Oscar buzz for her performance, and for good reason. By turns petulant, satisfied, mischievous, selfish, and overjoyed, Sarah is a complex, very human character, and Winslet embodies her fully. She makes Sarah's conflicting feelings about her daughter, her marriage, and herself seem absolutely genuine; even when you want to shake Sarah, you still can't help rooting for her. Wilson does strong work as Brad, too--the look on his face as Brad withdraws into himself whenever his filmmaker wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), tightens the family purse strings conveys his emasculation without a word. Brad is driven by his desire to reclaim that lost sense of power, which he needs in order to really grow up. In the supporting cast, former child star Jackie Earle Haley is memorable as squirrelly Ron McGorvey, who's at once scary, sympathetic, and utterly lost in Sarah and Brad's world.

Direction

Considering that director Todd Field's last film was multiple Oscar nominee In the Bedroom, it's no wonder that expectations were high for Little Children. And overall it doesn't disappoint, providing meaty drama and excellent performances. But there's something slightly off about the film's tone, as if Field couldn't decide whether the movie was going to be a black comedy or a melodrama until it was too late to commit to either. At least part of that is due to the pitch of the voice-over, particularly in the opening scenes. The omniscient narrator has a voice that seems more suited to tongue-in-cheek witticisms than heartbreak. But perhaps the tonal ambivalence was Field's intent--after all, most of life is neither all comedy or all tragedy, but a muddled mix of both.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Movie

Little Children

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-10-26 15:00:40

Provider

Review

You could be forgiven for thinking a title like Little Children promises a gentle romp. In fact, director Todd Field's first outing since 2001's acclaimed In The Bedroom – a dissection of middle-class relationships – is anything but, instead encompassing murder, mutilation, adultery, internet porn and paedophilia.

None of which should come as a shock, given that the first scene in Little Children is of china figurines of tiny kids whose faces are twisted into horrifying grins. No wonder: the suburb in which the film is set is home to a sex offender, Ronald (the fantastically creepy Jackie Earle Haley), who is ostracised when, having served two years for flashing at a child, he goes swimming with the local kids.

Ronald is harrassed by ex-cop Larry (Noah Emmerich), who, it transpires, has a secret of his own. Then again, in this seemingly staid community, everyone but everyone is a hypocrite. Take Sarah (Kate Winslet) and Brad (Patrick Wilson), two unfulfiled young parents who are married to the wrong people. After a summer spent lounging at the local pool they embark on a relationship, prompted by Kate's realisation that her husband (Gregg Edelman) is prone to jerking off to the Slutty Kay website.

Combining melodrama with humour is a precarious balancing act, but Little Children manages, somehow, to pull off both. You may not particularly care for the characters, and the ending of the film doesn't quite come off, but nonetheless it's one that sticks in the memory.