We Need to Talk About Kevin is certainly a movie that will be every parent and would-be parent's worst nightmare. This movie gained a lot of praise at the Cannes Film Festival and attempts to explore the themes of society, parenting and psychology. Eva Khachaturian (Tilda Swinton) is a middle-aged mother hated by her community and struggling with the aftermath of a tragedy. Her sociopathic teenage son, Kevin (Ezra Miller), has committed a school massacre and she has to deal with the results of the sins of her child and explore how Kevin turned out this way in a dual narrative. After being unable to make her version of The Lovely Bones, Lynne Ramsey turned to adapting this Lionel Shriver novel instead. She delivers a haunting, slow-moving film that looks at the personal and social impact of the tragedy through one person's eyes as well looking at the struggles of raising a troubled child. Ramsey made sure there was a grim, somber tone and kept a minimalist view of the world, yet still adds her own visual flair with intense, slow close ups and red imagery throughout the film to symbolise blood on Eva's hands. There is a deliberately disjointed narrative throughout the movie, cutting from the present to the past as we examine Eva's inability to bond with her son. Ramsey took the bold step to avoid showing any of the actual massacre and most violence is committed off screen. We do not need to see it to understand its impact on people. Nor did we see Kevin's preparations for the massacre: We Need to Talk About Kevin is Eva's story, not Kevin's. But there is a major problem with Ramsay's approach to the story: she seems to ignore the entire concept of nature vs. nurture. Eva being portrayed as a bad mother is outweighed by the way Kevin is shown as practically the product of Satan's loins. Throughout the film, Kevin is always pushing his mother's buttons and made out to be evil from the day he is born. There is no subtlety in his portrayal, even with basic things like reaction shots. We Need to Talk About Kevin should have been more ambiguous, because the whole point of the film is to raise a debate. The audience is not meant to have a clear answer. Swinton's performance was highly praised and she is worthy of an Oscar nomination as her character Eva, who starts off both as a woman at a real low end and her struggles with a child she does not want. She is a disaster of a mum to Kevin as a young child, a child who tests her patience. Swinton was able to bring real depth to her character. When she does make the effort, the damage is already done. Throughout the movie, Swinton plays a tragic and lonely figure who is isolated in some form, a character who is a shell of her former self. Kevin is strongly played by two actors: Jasper Newell plays Kevin as a little brat, pushing his mother with his behaviour and playing Eva and his father (John C. Reilly) against each other. As a teenager, Erza Miller portrays Kevin with a sociopathic and nihilist outlook. He has a sharp mind, but enjoys inflicting pain on others, including his little sister (wonderfully played by the young Ashley Gerasimovich). He is a character who believes in nothing and takes a destructive path as a sinister air is always around him. Reilly plays Franklin as a normal suburban dad, someone who wants to do the right thing for his children. It was a wonderfully natural performance of a man who just sees Kevin's behaviour as being typically boyish. He is very deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nod for such a believable performance. There is a permanent, chilling sense throughout the film thanks Ramsay's low key direction and the power of the performance. This is a film that should stick in your head, but We Need to Talk About Kevin should not have been so clear-cut.
Review of We Need to Talk About Kevin
