Web Wombat - the original Australian search engine
 
You are here: Home / Entertainment
Entertainment Menu
Business Links
Premium Links

We Need To Talk About Kevin



Review by Anthony Morris

We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin

we need to talk about kevin

A film adaptation of a book needs to stand alone.

There's not much of an audience for a film that expects you to have the original book with you and open at the same time. 

Which is why reviewing We Need To Talk About Kevin gets a little tricky : having read the book, it's obvious that director Lynne Ramsay has done an excellent job of re-creating the novel's unreliable narrator in visual terms.

If you haven't read the book, the way We Need To Talk About Kevin skims over much of the plot details in favour of presenting events as fragmented memories means you might not actually figure out what’s meant to be going on. 

Eva (Tilda Swinton) is drifting through a life seemingly ruined by something her son Kevin (Ezra Miller) did in the past. 

Red paint is thrown over her doorstep; middle-aged women hit her in the face on the street. While she accepts this punishment as her due, constant flashbacks fill in her past with her husband Franklin (John C Reilly) and the son they had together. 

Even as a baby Eva didn't feel much of a connection with Kevin, a purposefully wilful child who refused to learn anything in front of her in case it gave her some satisfaction. 

He only became toilet trained when she (accidentally) broke his arm while toilet-training, and the battle of wills between them only gets worse as he grows older. 

The "evil child" genre is a well established one down the trashier end of the horror genre; what separated the novel from, say, Orphan was it’s focus on the mother's lack of connection with her (male) child, touching on the guilt many mothers have at not instantly and passionately falling in love with their own child.

We Need To Talk About Kevin skims over this – in fact, the film largely skims over everything, presenting us with a woman all but in a fugue state, drifting through life surrounded by the shattered, muddled pieces of her past.

Unfortunately, without having already read the novel, what's on screen is often a little too effective at re-creating Eva’s feeling of being lost.

As a film, We Need To Talk About Kevin is impressive, haunting stuff : as an adaptation of the novel, it leaves a lot to be desired.

3.5 out of 5


We Need To Talk About Kevin
Australian release: 17th November, 2011
Official Site: We Need To Talk About Kevin
Cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Director: Lynne Ramsay



Australia's own Web Wombat Search
Search 30 million+ Australian web pages:
 
Try Web Wombat's Advanced Search
Join WebWombat On ...

Feature Articles
2013 Motor Sport Calendars
2013 Motor Sport Calendars

Calendars for the 2013 Motor Sport Season are in. Check out the schedules for the F1, V8 and MotoGP Seasons. We also have the Calendars for the 2013 Australian, British and World Superbike Championships. Read more ...

Trailer Trash: The Incredible Burt Wonderston
Trailer Trash: Man Of Steel

A stellar cast including Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde and James Gandolfini head up this broad cartoonish comedy written by the Horrible Bosses scribe. Read more ...

Weekend Recipe
Stuffed Green Peppers Recipe

Stuffed Green Peppers are a quick and easy to prepare hot side dish at your next barbecue. Great to complement any crispy salads. Serves eight. Read More ...

Rotorua: New Zealand
Rotorua: New Zealand

Rotorua is more than just a place for an adrenaline rush, it's one of nature's unbeatable Thermal wonderlands! Read more ...

PC Review: Rift Storm Legion
PC Review: Rift Storm Legion

If you are a MMORPG fan, we definitely recommend this title. It is a rewarding experience with a great voice cast and an engaging story. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time playing this one. Read more ...

Horoscopes Lotto Weather More

Home | About Us | Advertise | Submit Site | Contact Us | Privacy | Terms of Use | Hot Links | OnlineNewspapers | Add Search to Your Site

Copyright © 1995-2012 WebWombat Pty Ltd. All rights reserved