We Need to Talk About Kevin is a film that doesn't let up and offers little comfort. Its uncompromising nature and slowly unraveling horror could be even classified as horror cinema. It's very well executed, but not without flaws.
The best thing about the movie is without a doubt the acting. All the roles are played excellently, especially the child actors. But the best performance is a split between Ezra Miller and Tilda Swinton, who both play their roles as convincingly as possible. Miller's depiction of Kevin is up there with Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as one of the greatest movie psychopaths. Swinton shows a great ability to seem normal, yet you always see the doubt and concern in her eyes. You truly get the feeling of her being a mother who cannot believe the deeds her child has committed.
The story unravels in a fashion that is at times effectively hypnotic and at others incredibly annoying. There are many jumps between time periods where only a few lines of dialogue are spoken before jumping back, and it makes them feel confusing, sometimes even gimmicky. On the other hand when it does work, it feels as if we're directly inside the main character's psyche as she thinks of times past and tries to understand what went wrong - if anything went wrong at all.
For its length there is surprisingly little dialogue in this film. There are numerous scenes with only a few lines, which makes the film's visuals stand out at times. One particularly surreal sequence where the main character is driving home on Halloween through a dark neighborhood cluttered with kids trick-or-treating is definitely the movie's visual highlight. The use of different colors, particularly red, and blurry filters give the movie many visually striking scenes. On the flipside, the lack of dialogue and the fairly slow pace of the film may bore viewers. I found myself nodding off on a couple of occasions.
The movie is definitely too long. It could have been anything between 10-20 minutes shorter, and it felt like dragging itself at times. But it has a great atmosphere of creeping discomfort, is at times visually very impressive and apologizes to no one. Being unapologetic is always a bonus in my book.
Recommendation: If you're up for a disturbing, thought-provoking film with excellent performances and don't mind slow pacing, definitely watch it.
The best thing about the movie is without a doubt the acting. All the roles are played excellently, especially the child actors. But the best performance is a split between Ezra Miller and Tilda Swinton, who both play their roles as convincingly as possible. Miller's depiction of Kevin is up there with Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as one of the greatest movie psychopaths. Swinton shows a great ability to seem normal, yet you always see the doubt and concern in her eyes. You truly get the feeling of her being a mother who cannot believe the deeds her child has committed.
The story unravels in a fashion that is at times effectively hypnotic and at others incredibly annoying. There are many jumps between time periods where only a few lines of dialogue are spoken before jumping back, and it makes them feel confusing, sometimes even gimmicky. On the other hand when it does work, it feels as if we're directly inside the main character's psyche as she thinks of times past and tries to understand what went wrong - if anything went wrong at all.
For its length there is surprisingly little dialogue in this film. There are numerous scenes with only a few lines, which makes the film's visuals stand out at times. One particularly surreal sequence where the main character is driving home on Halloween through a dark neighborhood cluttered with kids trick-or-treating is definitely the movie's visual highlight. The use of different colors, particularly red, and blurry filters give the movie many visually striking scenes. On the flipside, the lack of dialogue and the fairly slow pace of the film may bore viewers. I found myself nodding off on a couple of occasions.
The movie is definitely too long. It could have been anything between 10-20 minutes shorter, and it felt like dragging itself at times. But it has a great atmosphere of creeping discomfort, is at times visually very impressive and apologizes to no one. Being unapologetic is always a bonus in my book.
Recommendation: If you're up for a disturbing, thought-provoking film with excellent performances and don't mind slow pacing, definitely watch it.