I will say upfront that “We Need to Talk About Kevin” isn’t for everyone. Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, it’s about Eva (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, excellent), a mother coming to terms with the behavior her teenage son Kevin (Ezra Miller, creepy), who committed some grisly murders at a school. The low-budget “Kevin” focuses on the struggles she and her husband Franklin (John C O’Reilly) had in raising Kevin from the time he was born, and how he ultimately morphed into a murderer. “Kevin’s” strange, dark narrative is not an appealing one, but it’s vividly brought to life in an unconventional but remarkably real performance from Swinton, who was nominated for many awards for the role but somehow overlooked for an Oscar. She’s superb at showing the frailties of parenthood gone wrong from even before she had Kevin, not to mention the unusual ways she’s dealing with being a mother of a murderer; the doting mother she is not. The ending is also a memorable one as mother finally reaches out to son to offer her support, something she should’ve done years ago. “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” directed and written by British director Lynne Ramsay, is adept at showing what happens when the human condition is not nurtured. Worth a look especially for Swinton’s superb performance, which anchors the film nicely.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
We Need to Talk About Kevin - B+
Rated R, 112 minutes
I will say upfront that “We Need to Talk About Kevin” isn’t for everyone. Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, it’s about Eva (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, excellent), a mother coming to terms with the behavior her teenage son Kevin (Ezra Miller, creepy), who committed some grisly murders at a school. The low-budget “Kevin” focuses on the struggles she and her husband Franklin (John C O’Reilly) had in raising Kevin from the time he was born, and how he ultimately morphed into a murderer. “Kevin’s” strange, dark narrative is not an appealing one, but it’s vividly brought to life in an unconventional but remarkably real performance from Swinton, who was nominated for many awards for the role but somehow overlooked for an Oscar. She’s superb at showing the frailties of parenthood gone wrong from even before she had Kevin, not to mention the unusual ways she’s dealing with being a mother of a murderer; the doting mother she is not. The ending is also a memorable one as mother finally reaches out to son to offer her support, something she should’ve done years ago. “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” directed and written by British director Lynne Ramsay, is adept at showing what happens when the human condition is not nurtured. Worth a look especially for Swinton’s superb performance, which anchors the film nicely.
I will say upfront that “We Need to Talk About Kevin” isn’t for everyone. Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, it’s about Eva (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, excellent), a mother coming to terms with the behavior her teenage son Kevin (Ezra Miller, creepy), who committed some grisly murders at a school. The low-budget “Kevin” focuses on the struggles she and her husband Franklin (John C O’Reilly) had in raising Kevin from the time he was born, and how he ultimately morphed into a murderer. “Kevin’s” strange, dark narrative is not an appealing one, but it’s vividly brought to life in an unconventional but remarkably real performance from Swinton, who was nominated for many awards for the role but somehow overlooked for an Oscar. She’s superb at showing the frailties of parenthood gone wrong from even before she had Kevin, not to mention the unusual ways she’s dealing with being a mother of a murderer; the doting mother she is not. The ending is also a memorable one as mother finally reaches out to son to offer her support, something she should’ve done years ago. “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” directed and written by British director Lynne Ramsay, is adept at showing what happens when the human condition is not nurtured. Worth a look especially for Swinton’s superb performance, which anchors the film nicely.
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