WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Directed by Lynne Ramsay
Stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller
Photo credit: Courtesy of eOne Films Publicity
I’m sitting in this movie recalling the number of times when I heard on the news about some kid being sent to jail for doing something unthinkable. I remember how people talk in disgust about what kind of upbringing did “that kid” have or recalling conversations with friends saying “that kid did it for attention”. I realized also that we often tag those parents as being sometimes clueless. But here I am as a mother…watching this very powerful movie about a boy who becomes a teen who exceeds horrific expectations ….and his mother.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, Tilda Swinton plays Eva, a reluctant and anxious mother who questions herself while re-examining her role to her family. This is a heart-wrenching story that takes us on a life journey with each path taking a turn for the worse.
Kevin, played by Ezra Miller, knows how to get under the skin of his mother from the start. Mom, a well-educated woman with a decent career, is determined her entire life to do her best with the challenges she faces with her son. The father, played by John C. Reilly, can see nothing out of the ordinary with the son and embraces his uniqueness often questioning the mother’s opinion. Of course, the son is in the driver’s seat and knows just how to manipulate any situation.
I sat through wondering what would I do? How would I cope with the town folks constant harassment and blame on you for the crimes committed by your child. I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t know what to do. And every thought is played out in Swinton’s character.
Best Line in the movie: “He says he was sorry and he was only trying to make it special”. As spoken by the father to mother after the son had splattered paint all over mom’s “stupid” office walls.
Tissue Rating: 5/5
Follow Sonya as the Toronto International Film Festival 2011 (TIFF) mayhem collides with back to school. This mom of two boys dubs herself as “the right place, right time gal” and will be hitting the circuit running from movie screenings to events for our readers. Sonya will get chatty with tweeps and peeps in the industry and report on celebrity sightings. Follow us on twitter and facebook to find out! @urbanmomsca #TIFFmoms
I read the book this summer and hope they can get the same intensity across in the film. The key question in the book was did the mother’s inability to bond with this child off the hop lead to what he became. She was really emotionally checked out of motherhood with Kevin the moment that she had him… perfectly cast. My must see film for fall!