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A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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Suffer The Little Children, You Will Not
by Eric (movies profile)
Jan 24, 2008
31
of
38 people found this review helpful
About a year ago, I saw something that made me worry about the future. A young mother was waiting at a bus stop with her son and her mother. The boy, probably about 3, seemed to enjoy biting and his mother allowed her son to bite her arm. Not only that, but was even telling this same child that he bit "like a girl" and proceeded to show him how to bite. If you understand why that bothered me, then you'll understand why I found Todd Field's Little Children to be an artistic statement of the blurring bonds between parents and their children.
Little Children starts off a newscast about the release of a convicted felon who exposed himself to children. The community he is coming to live with his mother is in outrage. Some are posting his picture in every public place possible, overexposing the issue. We are quickly met by a small group of parents, Sarah (Kate Winslett) being one of them. They're concerned about this guy, but they're more concerned with a young father Brad (Patrick Wilson), whom they dub "The Prom King". They all yearn to fantasize about him, but only Sarah is given the chance to talk to him. Out of pure spite for the other women who are egging her on, she kisses Brad, which gets a completely different response than she expected from her peers, but also has her wanting to be with Brad.
We quickly see the differences between Brad and Sarah. Brad's marriage is somewhat happy, but unfulfilling while Sarah's is full of deception and deceit. Their children both don't see authority in their parents, merely an activity councilor that takes them to parks and swimming pools. Brad graduated law school but doesn't have the heart for passing the bar exam while Sarah seems trapped in inactivity that driving her mad. Eventually, Brad gives up studying for the exam to watch skateboarders and play tag football with out of shape police officers while Sarah tries to seduce Brad. They eventually start an affair that doesn't make much sense to either of them but seems to keep away a loneliness left in them by raising children they don't much care for while their spouses are working.
Intercut with this is the life of the pedophile (name not known just yet). He lives with his mother, rides around town on his bicycle and is harassed everywhere he goes. The film's tricky balance doesn't make the mistake of making him to be a good guy, but allows us to see that he's an emotionally stunted man which we are given hints all throughout the film. Even his crime that he is imprisoned for is something that a teenager would do as an act of childish cruelty. And the only one whom he allows to see him as a good boy is his mother, who tries so hard to help him prepare for a life without her. She sets him up on a date with a woman who is perfect for him (and I MEAN perfect), which he sabotages after he realizes that she really likes him. And all throughout the film, he is harassed at every turn by an ex-cop (Noah Emmerich), which culminates into a tragedy the propels us the final act of the film.
So what is the film trying to say with these three lives? Just look at how all three of these people act. Can you honestly say that any one of them is more mature than the other? Brad is sabotaging a perfectly good marriage with a wife (played with silent fury by Jennifer Connelly) that cares about him, even if her love seems to go more directly to their son. Sarah tends to act just as spoiled as her daughter many times and ultimately allows her own needs to endanger the life of her daughter near the end. It could be said that the film is just making the case that there is no black and white, but I honestly think the film's title is referring to how adults act. That the rearing of children reverts parents back to basic emotional needs that makes them no better than their own children, just more capable of mischief. Perhaps that's what makes those darned Housewives so Desperate?
While the performances for Little Children are good all-around, two performances shine brighter than the rest. This is the year Patrick Wilson should see his first Oscar nomination. His Brad is selfish, needy, and reserved. There are quiet scenes that allow him to feel out Brad for us, to make him a tragic figure, making him even more pathetic. We're not supposed to sympathize with him, but we are supposed to follow him. On that same note I would also nominate for Oscar (Pedophile). This is pure acting, plain and simple. He doesn't for one minute allow us sympathy, but allows us to empathize with a man who knows he's dangerous to everybody he's around, including himself. The most powerful scene involves this man coming to a swimming pool filled with families and little kids. It's apparent he wants to just swim, but is also looking at the kids from underneath the pool, perhaps tempting fate like a drunk with a newly purchased bottle of Jack Daniels with the seal still on. This performance is brave in ways that I cannot make lightly.
For his sophomore attempt, Todd Field has made a superb character drama, if not as good as his In the Bedroom, which was more impactful. But this is not supposed to be. He's gone for something different, but allows us to think about what he's saying. He's not really daring us to challenge what he puts in front of us, but wants us to talk about it all the same. I would say that the only thing I would have asked him to do was to take out the nearly useless narrorator, which allows the film to feel more like a novel, but is generally telling us information we can already tell by the superb acting on the screen. It doesn't really take away from the experience, but it is just a bit too indulgent. His camera has gotten a little better since the last time, utilizing things I'm pretty sure he didn't get a chance to the first time around. His screenplay with novelist (Name) is demanding and yet still understanding. He still has some growing to do before he becomes a great filmmaker, but he's on the right track.
All in all, this is a challenging film to watch, but we live in a time where parents are having to help out their children to raise grandchildren. I think it's more important than ever to have a film that with ask those younger parents what will they do when the support is gone and they are left to be the adult? |
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