We Need To Talk About Kevin
Artifical Eye
112 minutes
2011 (Cannes Premiere)/2012 (Limited Release)
R
Upon concluding my first viewing of director Lynne Ramsay's We Need To Talk About Kevin, based on the book of the same name, there was only one thought in my head: What in the world is wrong with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences?! How this film did not get nominated for Best Picture is beyond all logic and comprehension. I understand that all art and entertainment is subjective, and I may not be a professional film critic - just a guy who has seen a lot of movies - but my knowledge of what it takes to make a good film is, I like to think, not inconsiderable.
How can it be that a picture with such amazingly haunting performances, incredible cinematography, and even brilliant use of licensed music went completely unnoticed? I understand how the Academy works when it votes on Best Picture. I know the logistics of how the nominees are chosen, but what I don't understand is how the hell this movie didn't make it on more members' lists. Was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close that much better in the eyes of the people who vote, despite the fact it received a lukewarm response from professional critics?
What we have here is a travesty. We Need To Talk About Kevin is one of the most disturbing, gut-wrenching films I've ever seen. It's a horror film for people who don't like horror films - not loaded with blood and gore or supernatural entities, but a truly terrifying, cold-blooded monster with seemingly no remorse: a teenage boy.
We Need To Talk About Kevin is an exploration of a mother's fractured psyche as she attempts to cope with her son's evil deeds. Right from birth, Eva Katchadourian (Tilda Swinton) could sense there was something wrong with her son. He cries incessantly, stopping only when held by his father, Franklin (John C. Reilly). As he grows, he displays more and more animosity towards his mother but takes an apparent liking to his father. As a child, Kevin (Jasper Newell) causes his mother constant grief, mocking her when she speaks, ruining her carefully laid out private room, and defiantly refusing to use the toilet. Eva eventually snaps when Kevin purposefully messes himself out of spite and throws him against the wall, breaking his arm, but when asked how it happened by his father, he coyly makes up a story about falling off his changing table and later exploits her hidden shame to get his way. Each time Eva attempts to talk to Franklin about Kevin's behavior, he dismisses it as typical boyish mischief, Eva caves, and the behavior is allowed to continue.
Now a teenager, Kevin (Ezra Miller) continues to be a source of frustration and concern for his mother. He humors her by agreeing to a mother-son day out where they engage in stilted conversation over a round of miniature golf, until dinner when Kevin makes a mockery of his mother's attempts to bond with him. He's even mean-spirited to his little sister, Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich), causing his mother to suspect he not only killed her pet, but is responsible for permanently blinding her in one eye with caustic drain cleaner - another act which his father seems to brush off as an unfortunate accident. Just about the only thing Kevin does take an interest in is archery, and his dad encourages his passion by buying him a new high-tech bow and arrow set for Christmas one year. Kevin later uses that same set to commit a massacre at his high school, locking the doors with bike locks the police must cut through before calmly walking out and surrending himself as his horrified mother looks on, having heard the news from a coworker.
The majority of the film is actually told through flashbacks, as Eva reflects upon Kevin's childhood. She spends most of her life in a daze, seemingly reminiscing about all the telltale signs of her son's psychosis. Her house and car are vandalized with red paint and she is subject to the hateful, accusatory stares, verbal barbs, and even the occasional physical assault from neighbors, some of whom's children fell victim to her own. Her guilt is written all over her face, and her painful reflections only serve to haunt her with the knowledge that, perhaps, she could have prevented it had she been more proactive about Kevin's behavioral problems.
Eva's descent into madness is reflected in the film's exquisite cinematography. Red is the dominant color, though it may lack subtlety, and many of Eva's happier flashbacks have a surreal quality to them. The camera blurs in and out repeatedly and shakes, as if the memory is so distant she can't even be sure it really happened, and they're all tainted in some way by the knowledge of what Kevin has done. The hiss of a lawn sprinkler often intrudes on her daydreams, leaving the viewer to ponder what haunting significance such a familiar, seemingly harmless suburban sound has.
The filmmakers also use clever juxtapositions to show the disconnect between mother and son, as they sit with their backs turned to one another in their house and in stark silence while Eva visits him in prison years later. Even more notable is the combination of upbeat music and sad, sometimes disconcerting imagery. Buddy Holly's "Everyday" has never been more disturbing than when paired with Eva's drive home on Halloween, where flashes of children and teenagers in ghoulish costumes in her headlights send her mind reeling.
Tilda Swinton has already proved she is an extraordinarily gifted, if somewhat cold and strange, actress, but here she gives arguably the best performance of her career. She's a woman barely able to keep it together, on the verge of a complete mental collapse herself, and she accepts the scorn and abuse she receives with shame and self-loathing. What's especially noteworthy is how much emotion she is able to convey with so few words. Her growing frustration is evident in her eyes when attempting to raise Kevin, and her sorrow and guilt radiate from her post-tragedy. It's a spellbinding performance, and most remarkable of all, it's not pandering or patronizing. The film explores what it might be like to be the parent of a monstrous child who commits a horrific act, unthinkable to the rational mind, but I never felt like I was expected to feel sorry for Eva. Instead, I felt something more akin to anger at her ambivalence towards her son's behavior. It's the shared knowledge between Eva's character and the audience that the film's great tragedy, one that is a frighteningly and sadly real possibility in our world, could have been prevented that makes it so emotionally disturbing.
Somehow, Swinton got snubbed for her performance, but I say the greater crime is that Ezra Miller also received no acknowledgement from the Academy. As the teenage incarnation of Kevin, his mocking voice, unnerving leer, and disconnected attitude is chilling. Miller is so convincing, I felt like the actor himself should be locked up on general principle. He paints a picture of a young man with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He's remorseless, heartless, and terrifying in a way that should cause every would-be parent to reconsider whether they really want kids or not, lest they turn out like this in spite of their best efforts.
It's a rare thing when a film leaves me absolutely speechless by the time the credits roll. Only now, almost a full day after having seen it, have I been able to coherently put my thoughts together. Blade Runner and Se7en did it, Memento did it, The Grey did it, and We Need To Talk About Kevin did it. This is a film that is horrifying on a level of realism unmatched by what we traditionally view as horror films. I cannot ever recall having seen a film that made my stomach drop the way this film's climax did. It works because it plays on our emotions and our fears. It explores the possibility that some children are just inherently bad and unreachable, and no amount of parenting can help. It asks the viewer to consider what might have happened had Eva disciplined him more, or gotten professional psychiatric help when she began to suspect something was amiss. It places them in the shoes of a parent whose world has been shattered and who is hated and blamed by almost everyone, including themselves. In short, We Need To Talk About Kevin is a masterpiece.
Now a teenager, Kevin (Ezra Miller) continues to be a source of frustration and concern for his mother. He humors her by agreeing to a mother-son day out where they engage in stilted conversation over a round of miniature golf, until dinner when Kevin makes a mockery of his mother's attempts to bond with him. He's even mean-spirited to his little sister, Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich), causing his mother to suspect he not only killed her pet, but is responsible for permanently blinding her in one eye with caustic drain cleaner - another act which his father seems to brush off as an unfortunate accident. Just about the only thing Kevin does take an interest in is archery, and his dad encourages his passion by buying him a new high-tech bow and arrow set for Christmas one year. Kevin later uses that same set to commit a massacre at his high school, locking the doors with bike locks the police must cut through before calmly walking out and surrending himself as his horrified mother looks on, having heard the news from a coworker.
The majority of the film is actually told through flashbacks, as Eva reflects upon Kevin's childhood. She spends most of her life in a daze, seemingly reminiscing about all the telltale signs of her son's psychosis. Her house and car are vandalized with red paint and she is subject to the hateful, accusatory stares, verbal barbs, and even the occasional physical assault from neighbors, some of whom's children fell victim to her own. Her guilt is written all over her face, and her painful reflections only serve to haunt her with the knowledge that, perhaps, she could have prevented it had she been more proactive about Kevin's behavioral problems.
Eva's descent into madness is reflected in the film's exquisite cinematography. Red is the dominant color, though it may lack subtlety, and many of Eva's happier flashbacks have a surreal quality to them. The camera blurs in and out repeatedly and shakes, as if the memory is so distant she can't even be sure it really happened, and they're all tainted in some way by the knowledge of what Kevin has done. The hiss of a lawn sprinkler often intrudes on her daydreams, leaving the viewer to ponder what haunting significance such a familiar, seemingly harmless suburban sound has.
The filmmakers also use clever juxtapositions to show the disconnect between mother and son, as they sit with their backs turned to one another in their house and in stark silence while Eva visits him in prison years later. Even more notable is the combination of upbeat music and sad, sometimes disconcerting imagery. Buddy Holly's "Everyday" has never been more disturbing than when paired with Eva's drive home on Halloween, where flashes of children and teenagers in ghoulish costumes in her headlights send her mind reeling.
Tilda Swinton has already proved she is an extraordinarily gifted, if somewhat cold and strange, actress, but here she gives arguably the best performance of her career. She's a woman barely able to keep it together, on the verge of a complete mental collapse herself, and she accepts the scorn and abuse she receives with shame and self-loathing. What's especially noteworthy is how much emotion she is able to convey with so few words. Her growing frustration is evident in her eyes when attempting to raise Kevin, and her sorrow and guilt radiate from her post-tragedy. It's a spellbinding performance, and most remarkable of all, it's not pandering or patronizing. The film explores what it might be like to be the parent of a monstrous child who commits a horrific act, unthinkable to the rational mind, but I never felt like I was expected to feel sorry for Eva. Instead, I felt something more akin to anger at her ambivalence towards her son's behavior. It's the shared knowledge between Eva's character and the audience that the film's great tragedy, one that is a frighteningly and sadly real possibility in our world, could have been prevented that makes it so emotionally disturbing.
Somehow, Swinton got snubbed for her performance, but I say the greater crime is that Ezra Miller also received no acknowledgement from the Academy. As the teenage incarnation of Kevin, his mocking voice, unnerving leer, and disconnected attitude is chilling. Miller is so convincing, I felt like the actor himself should be locked up on general principle. He paints a picture of a young man with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He's remorseless, heartless, and terrifying in a way that should cause every would-be parent to reconsider whether they really want kids or not, lest they turn out like this in spite of their best efforts.
It's a rare thing when a film leaves me absolutely speechless by the time the credits roll. Only now, almost a full day after having seen it, have I been able to coherently put my thoughts together. Blade Runner and Se7en did it, Memento did it, The Grey did it, and We Need To Talk About Kevin did it. This is a film that is horrifying on a level of realism unmatched by what we traditionally view as horror films. I cannot ever recall having seen a film that made my stomach drop the way this film's climax did. It works because it plays on our emotions and our fears. It explores the possibility that some children are just inherently bad and unreachable, and no amount of parenting can help. It asks the viewer to consider what might have happened had Eva disciplined him more, or gotten professional psychiatric help when she began to suspect something was amiss. It places them in the shoes of a parent whose world has been shattered and who is hated and blamed by almost everyone, including themselves. In short, We Need To Talk About Kevin is a masterpiece.
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