Little Children
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Movie Reviews of Little Children
Movie Review: Beautifully acted and written.
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the greatest things about LITTLE CHILDREN is the way it beautifully captures the feel of the novel upon which it is based. Yes, the author co-wrote the screenplay...but more than that...the film leaves certain items out of the book (to save time) and changes some plot points...but the overall flavor is wonderfully captured.
But the absolute greatest thing are the performances of the two Oscar nominees...Kate Winslet and Jackie-Earle Haley. Winslet plays a very easy to dislike unhappy suburban mom. But she's not the "typical" mom who takes care of the children, develops play dates, keeps the house perfect, watches and follows Martha Stewart, etc. We see those kinds of women in her circle of acquaintances...but Winslet is more. She feels somehow that she is disconnected from these women because she has not connected or accepted that she is now an adult. She scorns the women...and they are pretty worthy of some derision. But she also fails to turn her discernment on herself. She has even failed to connect emotionally with her daughter...they are a tandem that MUST be together...but neither would choose to spend time with the other if it could be avoided. Into Winslet's boring life comes hunky, stay-at-home Dad Patrick Wilson...and he's even more trapped in his arrested development. He's supposed to be studying for the bar exam each evening...but he's given up on that. He'd rather watch youthful skateboarders outside the library or pay full-contact football. He resents the fact that his wife is the "breadwinner" and that his wife reserves all her true affection for their young son.
So naturally, these two "Little Children" are drawn together. Their relationship is the crux of the story...and Winslet charts her character's path beautifully. The script helps, as does some droll narration...but all you really need to know about her is etched right on her face. At one point, she catches her older husband engaged in a private and distasteful act. On her face we see the surprise, then the revulsion, then a moment of amusement, and then the realization that he's just given her an excuse to stop pretending they have a healthy relationship. This happens in about 10 seconds...and it's as clear as though she had expressed those thoughts out loud. Late in the film, Winslet has an emotional moment with her little girl, and we see her character literally switching from being one type of person to another. She is startlingly good, as always, with an impeccable American accent.
Into this suburban mix, we have Jackie Earle Haley as a recently released child sexual offender, who has moved in with his mom. An angry ex-cop (Noah Emmerich) has made it his mission to drive this guy away, to warn the neighbors and to basically take out his inchoate anger and loathing at himself on someone else. Haley IS a despicable character...yet again the writing and the performance make us see that he's just as filled with loathing at himself as we are by his acts and desires. Haley is amazing...he absolutely looks the part and he fills it so well. His eyes, in particular, are amazing. I love Alan Arkin and was SO glad when he won the Oscar for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE...but just comparing one performance to another (rather than one body of work to another), Haley should have won the Oscar hands down. It's a fearless performance, nuanced and a little terrifying.
Emmerich is very good as the tortured ex-cop. His seemingly genial nature is just shot through with anger. You can palpably feel how helpless he feels about his fate and his lot in life. Patrick Wilson (who was so enjoyable last year in HARD CANDY) looks his part, and is pretty good...but he's just left eating the dust of Winslet a bit. Jennifer Connelly, as Wilson's wife, has a small part, and she brings her usual quiet sensitivity to it. As she has aged, and as she's spent a few years married to British actor Paul Bettany, her voice has taken on just a small tinge of "superiority" in its tone. When I see her on talk shows and such...it comes across as a little annoying...just like Madonna's ever deepening English accent makes her seem SO phony. But in this film, it's perfect.
Director and co-writer Todd Fields (who also served these same duties for the beautiful, heartbreaking IN THE BEDROOM) is now undeniably a master at literary adaptation. He takes important modern American writings, and turns them into minor-masterpieces of tone. LITTLE CHILDREN is a film that should be seen by adult audiences...but is certainly SHOULD be seen. There are some brief but graphic moments of sexuality, a little harsh language, and a couple of scenes involving Haley that adults would NOT want to explain to their kids.
For me, the primary lesson from the film is the potential we have to damage our children with our own childish "adult" behavior. Winslet, in particular, seems oblivious to how she's affecting her little girl. There's a heartbreaking scene when Winslet comes back from a couple of days away from her family, and immediately runs to the shower. Her little girl tries to talk with her and share the craft project she has made...but she is rebuffed and leaves...deeply hurt. The movie argues that we adults need to "grow up." We can't stay Little Children forever without causing harm.
Movie Review: John B. Hamel's Review
Summary: 5 Stars
The beginning of Tom Perotta's 2004 novel, "Little Children," warns, "Decent people beware."
This seems an apt caveat to a story about infidelity, sexual deviance and a pedophile: Please, "decent people," be careful not to taint yourselves with such things.
But apparently this warning did not get through to illustrious writer and director Todd Field, who decided to make a film out of the novel. Luckily, the resulting piece is an absorbing and ethically dubious social drama about a place familiar to most Americans -- suburbia.
For those not acquainted with Field, his résumé prior to "Little Children" is marked by quality rather than quantity. In 2001, Field wrote and directed his debut film "In the Bedroom," which earned five Academy Award nominations and a spot on most critics' "Best of the Year" lists.
Returning to the screen this year to similar accolades with "Little Children," Field has established himself as a director with the engrossing cinematic adaptation of Perotta's satirical novel. Since its release early last November, the film has traversed the American art house circuit, earning much-deserved critical laud and, not surprisingly, three Academy Award nominations.
"Little Children," not unlike Field's previous effort, is a film about the psychological depths hidden beneath seemingly calm personas. For "In the Bedroom," that persona was a family trying to feign normality in the wake of their son's death. In "Little Children," it's the unblemished façade of an American suburban community.
Field begins his film in an equally disclaiming manner to Perotta's novel: Right after the opening credits, the film cuts to a concerned news anchor reporting on the controversy of an ex-con pedophile who has just moved to a residential family neighborhood.
Field abruptly shifts to a scene at a local park, where children play happily in a playground. But after seeing the television report about the child molester, the audience can't help but sit and watch these kids play without a sense of disquietude.
And therein lies the introduction to one of the film's central themes -- the juxtaposition of the neighborhood's suburban veneer with the moral vices that lie beneath. With all of the typical symptoms of a thriving suburban neighborhood -- town pools, playgrounds, two-story houses, book clubs, quiet residential roads -- "Little Children" sets its story on a stage that we all know, but contrasts this set with the psychological aberrations of those living in this community.
Inhabiting this illusively perfect middle-class community are Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) and Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson). Sarah is a post-grad school intellectual who is having trouble adjusting to becoming a housewife and mother, while Brad is an unemployed father skeptical of ever achieving his dream of becoming a lawyer, having failed the bar exam twice.
Both characters' marriages are dubious -- Brad's wife (Jennifer Connelly) is a career-driven filmmaker too industrious to give her husband much attention, while Sarah discovered her husband in an incriminating situation involving Internet porn and another woman's underpants. After meeting at the neighborhood playground where they both take their children, Adam and Sarah began a heated affair.
Framing this affair is the suburban neighborhood that has become instantly threatened with the arrival of a pedophile, Ronald McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley). As the film looks deeper and deeper into the lives of the residents and how they are affected by the arrival of this devious newcomer, it becomes apparent that no one is free of shortcomings; even the adults can behave just as cruelly and immaturely as "little children."
Adding a little drollness to the solemnity of events that take place in the community is the documentary-like voice-over. The narrator omnisciently relates the story of this neighborhood as if it were an Animal Planet feature on lions' predatory habits.
While much of the content in the film, including the narration, was taken from the novel, Perotta and Field tried to reinvigorate the novel's story rather than just copy it when they wrote the screenplay. As a result, one of the three nominations the film has earned is for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The other two Oscar nominations the movie has earned are Best Actress in a Lead Role for Kate Winslet and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jackie Earle Haley, who turns in an outstanding performance as a character who provokes every emotion from disdain to sympathy in viewers. The acting in the film is indeed phenomenal, with Kate Winslet achieving one of the most captivating performances of her career.
With a familiar setting, superb acting, an intricate storyline and an ethical ambiguity that will keep you thinking for days after, "Little Children" has truly established itself as one of the year's best films. While showing the darker side under the shiny veneer of American suburbs is not a new concept in film, Field's version is as engaging as it is challenging. This may only be Field's second film, but "Little Children" reaffirms Field as a talented and masterful writer, director and now adapter.
Movie Review: Great flick, but read the book too
Summary: 5 Stars
"Little Children," directed by Todd Field (who also scored with the 2001 film In the Bedroom), is a spectacular adaptation of the Tom Perrotta novel from which it is derived. Field and Perrotta, who co-wrote the screenplay, captured the essence of the book and made it sparkle on the screen. It focuses on Brad and Sarah, two unhappily married people who feel that their lives have been waylaid by parenthood. Brad was a college athlete bound for a career as an attorney when his beautiful wife's work as a director of documentaries took off, they had a son, and Brad became seemingly incapable of passing the bar exam (his wife, by the way, is played by Jennifer Connelly, who does quite a lot with a relatively small amount of screen time). He doesn't really mind being cast as Mr. Mom, seeing as his greater ambitions seem to have gone up in smoke, but he does feel uncomfortable around the moms populating the playground and town pool -- who have dubbed him "the prom king" because of his good looks. That all changes when he meets kindred spirit Sarah (the exquisitely natural Kate Winslet, who earned an Oscar nom for her deeply layered and precise performance), who had been on her way to a PhD in literature until marriage and motherhood got in the way. Now her already shaky marriage is on the rocks thanks to her husband's curious use of 'office time' (I won't spoil the surprise), and she and Brad jump at the opportunity to throw it all away by starting a passionate affair while their children nap during playdates. The title, you see, refers to the adults in this story as much as the children that have appeared in their lives. "Little Children" is filled with characters in a state of arrested development -- either unable or unwilling to grow up and face the real life of bills, chores, snack times, diapers, and such that they find themselves consumed by.
Add into this mix the subplot involving a registered sex offender (played by the film's other Academy Award nominee, Jackie Earle Haley) who moves to town after getting sprung from prison and you've got a stellar, complicated movie going. The tone is comedic and dramatic, optimistic and heartbreaking, relatable yet disturbing -- a dangerous high wire act, to be sure, but one that Field and the stellar cast navigate with the greatest of ease. And Field knows how to use symbolism very well: the subtle sound of trains inexorably chugging away in the background of the film's beginning scenes, growing louder and more ominous as the plotlines converge and begin to 'derail', the screaming sound of insects in another key scene, cracks at the bottom of a swimming pool ... he really has an eye for the tiny details you almost don't notice. His one misstep? The narration of the film is too obvious in an otherwise subtle, genius film. Field's staging hints at the themes too well to have them explained to us, and the actors do such a great job conveying their character's inner desires that we don't need to have someone tell us that information. A scene in which Brad triumphantly charges toward the end zone during a football game is so overdone with narration and cheesy music that it's actually groan-inducing. I think that Field was trying to be cheesy in that moment, but he succeeded a little too well at it. The special features are also non-existant, which is a disappointment. But at any rate, it is a spectacular flick, and I would highly recommend it.
But be sure to pick up the book, Little Children: A Novel as well. With more elbow room than a film's inevitable demands on running time can allow, Perrotta really gets at a host of other characters and ideas that are minor in the movie. In the novel we get to go home with Mary Anne, the Stepford wife of the playground, and find out why she adheres to such a rigorous schedule. And in Brad's wife we discover a vindictive competitiveness that comes out when she suspects that her husband is straying. These golden touches and more can be found only in the novel, so be sure to snap up a copy post haste.
Movie Review: The Best Film of 2006
Summary: 5 Stars
Little Children opened and received some of the best reviews of the year. Problem was, it had little press and a limited theatrical release. The 3 Academy Award nominations it received, it probably received more from word of mouth than anything. Anyway, the poster of the film intrigued me and prompted me to read the book a few months ago. Since then, I have been aching to see the film. Now, my dream has come true and I've seen it and I think it's the best film of 2006. Not only does it work purely as a film, but it's also the epitome of a great literary adaptation. It does what all the great literary adaptations have done; changed little, added less. The screenplay is by the writer of the novel, Tom Perrotta and the director of the film, Todd Field...I think this proves that maybe the novelist is best suited to adapt his own work.
The film takes place in an anonymous suburb, deep in the heart of suburbia. Kate Winslet plays Sarah, a young wife and mother who has no idea what she's doing in the lifestyle that she is now in. Her day consists of taking her daughter Lucy to the park and listening to the boring chitchat of her fellow mothers. That's until she sees The Prom King (Patrick Wilson), whose real name is Brad, the stay-at-home-dad that brings his son to the park and is the object of every playground mother's affection. When the mothers bet Sarah five bucks to get his phone number, she winds up with a kiss instead...This kiss spirals into a full-on affair. Meanwhile, a convicted sex offender has moved into the neighborhood in the form of Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley) and is the victim of harassment at the hands of Larry (Noah Emmerich, whose brother is pretty high up at New Line Cinema), the head of the committee of concerned parents. Jennifer Connelly plays Kathy, Brad's wife who (he openly admits) his much more beautiful than Sarah. The movie is a straight- forward drama, but is very much a satire of suburban America that rings very true.
The best part of the film is the sub-plot involving Ronnie McGorvey and you realize that, in many cases, the offender often becomes the victim. As you probably know, the favorite to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar was Eddie Murphy but it (very) unexpectedly went to Alan Arkin. The Academy made a big mistake! Jackie Earle Haley delivered the best supporting performance of 2006 and has a truly great comeback story. This is a character that's hard to like. No matter what the crime was, no one likes a sex offender...This film really shows how unfair the treatment of them can be and Haley portrays McGorvey in a way I don't think anyone else can. The first scene he appears in and his first lines in the film ("I was only trying to cool off") are truly haunting and effective. Kate Winslet is also inspired casting.
I've read two novels by Perrotta (the other was also made into a film, 'Election') and he has no problem exposing the imperfections of his characters. "Election" ignored that aspect, "Little Children" doesn't. An actress like Angelina Jolie or Cameron Diaz would not have been able to make this character believable. The film is really just an amazing piece of work. During the entire film I kept wondering if they kept the ending from the novel. The novel ends abruptly and I didn't think it would be realistic on film. The film also ends rather abruptly and, yes; they did change the ending. In doing so, they gave a much more poignant and MUCH MORE haunting ending that is very shocking. When reading the book I noticed many instances where I thought to myself 'no way this is in the movie' and much to my surprise and enjoyment, much of it is! 90% of the book is in the movie. The only things they dropped (that are incredibly noticeable) were a sub-plot involving a past crime of McGorvey's and Sarah's husband's escapade with his obsession. It's a toss up for me trying to decide if the film is better than the book, but on a whim I want to say yes.
This is a great film; A poignant, powerful, haunting, sometimes funny film. It's absolutely brilliant and the finest piece of filmmaking to come out of 2006.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: One of the great adult dramas of the last 20 years
Summary: 5 Stars
I am slowly getting caught up on DVD with those 2006 art films that did not play at my suburban San Francisco multiplex, including Todd Field's sad and disturbing treasure, LITTLE CHILDREN. This masterpiece is the kind of complex adult drama I loved watching at UCLA when I was a student in the 1970s, then discussing with friends over pie and coffee at a restaurant or dorm lounge for hours. It is exquisitely acted, powerfully written and directed, and stunningly filmed (by Antonio Calvache) in Panavision and soft colors. It is unquestionably one of the finest films of the last decade, and it plays wondrously on the intimacy of home video in a night bedroom.
In a small New York state town where everyone knows everyone else's secrets, Sarah (Oscar-nominated Kate Winslet in a luminous performance) catches her husband in his study masturbating while watching porn sex on his computer. It is too much for her on top of him being endlessly boring. Sarah takes her young daughter Lucy and simultaneously has a sexual relationship with Brad (Patrick Wilson), who is married to Jennifer Connelly and cannot seem to pass the bar exam to be a lawyer; Connelly hassles him about that so Sarah is a breath of fresh air in a town park. This is a town of haunting failed ambitions and relationships. The source is a 2004 novel by Tom Perotta, who co-wrote the script with director Field. Using a voice-over narration, the movie is thrillingly literate, with adult characters and complex conflicts. Sex scenes with full nudity are matter-of-fact and not gratuitous. Winslet is my favorite contemporary actress. No other young actress has gotten so many Oscar nominations (this is #5) at such a young age (I think 31) playing so many unusual performances in mostly uncommercial art films. She also doesn't care how she looks if the role is great, which she shares with Bette Davis (mercifully without Davis' endless cigarettes). So we have two adult characters both committing adultery. Will they get away with it and be happy? Let's leave that a secret.
In the performance of a second lifetime (he was a child actor in the 1970s), Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley plays a scalding supporting role as Ronnie, a sex pervert who served his time in jail and now is back in the same town where his crime was committed. Boy, do the townspeople know that and won't stand for it one minute. They put up pervert signs, use a bullhorn outside his mother's house (he lives with her in middle age), and have their children all flee from a swimming pool like a shark attack in JAWS when poor Ronnie just wants to peacefully cool off on a hot day. What happens to the complex and immensely likeable Ronnie should not be revealed here. But he is a heartbreakingly sad character that Haley gives layers and layers of complexity to. He truly deserved the Oscar last year that Alan Arkin got for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Arkin is fun, but not even in the same hemisphere with the towering Haley. His final scene burns through celluloid, in tandem with Sarah's final scene with daughter Lucy. I was crying. The voice-over last line is extraordinary: "The past cannot be changed, but the future can."
LITTLE CHILDREN may endure as one of the great adult dramas of the past twenty years. I did not care for Todd Field's previous film, IN THE BEDROOM (2001), mostly because star Sissy Spacek was gratuitously smoking Marlboros too much, as if the cigarette company subsidized that low-budget film. Red boxes were heavy-handedly lying around on tables. The film also had characters I could not stand. But I really care about the adult and real and complicated and sympathetic characters in the magnificent LITTLE CHILDREN. The movie is an absolute must-see for mature adults. It may haunt your very soul for weeks afterword. Be sure to rent or buy it in widescreen because it is in 2.35 Panavision.