From the desk of: Robert

Sarcastigate at the Movies: Little Children

For this film, I feel compelled to depart from my typical “greater than vs less than” structured film reviews.  The reason is simple: this film is far too complex for such distinctions.

First, however, an acknoweldgement — I’m incredibly late to the game on this one.  It came out in 2006.  I’ve already seen this, written about it, drunkenly discussed it ad naseum (with no recollection of any previous opinion.)  Just recently, however, they began screening this in HD and it gave me reason to re-watch it since it’s a movie that I greatly enjoyed and always suspected it may make it on to my all-time favorites list.

This is a film what’s stark (beautiful) cinematography stands in sharp contrast to its murky (beautiful) moral distinctions.  Through the main characters we are pulled through a study of romance vs realism and chemistry vs projected-perfection not by our noses but rather by a faint coaxing of our emotions.   Kate Winslet (who is somehow becoming my favorite actress in the world) turns in a subtle but powerful performance and is complemented by the rest of a well-acted cast.   The entire film lays perfectly in the tension between bucolic humanism and ironic detachment and gives the viewer enough credit to not become preachy or definitive.   The second half of the film hinges on a discussion of the book Madame Bovary.  Just as the book-group discussion feels conflicted in the justification (or lack-of) the female protagonists actions — the viewer of this film is continuously rooting for both enthusiastic sex (Kathy and Brad) and the application of oneself to control such carnal urges (Ronnie.)

Seemingly misunderstood in many reviews of this film is the voice-over narration.  Yes, it’s a little corny.  Yes, at the beginning I’m thinking to myself, “this shot would work just as well without the narrator spelling out exactly what the character is thinking.”   But… as the movie proceeds, as we understand the characters more, as we begin to grasp their intentions and they drop their pretensions — the narrator disappears.  He doesn’t seem to return until the very end — until the characters have made up their minds about what paths they’d like their ethical experiment to follow:  one that may require a little bit of narration to help communication and understanding along.

Little Children is full of sharp dialogue, solid performances, and an intelligence that I find hard to find.  The entire execution is superb and makes me wonder just how good the book must be.  This one will make it to my collection just as soon as it hits BluRay.  Yes… it’s that stunningly beautiful.

Rating: 9.5/10

(if you’d like some idea of where the last .5 went…. I suggest this Salon.com review.  It touches on a couple of the minor shortfalls in the film (Winslet not being homely enough looking) but the reviewer sorely misses (or fails to mention) the entire juxtaposition that this film relies on.)