We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

So much average

People are voting emotionally.

An Exercise In Nonsense

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

'We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)' is almost like a puzzle, one that doesn't have a definitive solution but is an enigma nonetheless. It unravels itself in a loose, dynamic way in which the very fabric of the film is used as a canvas for the central character's trauma to be splashed across the screen, explored in a volatile and vibrant way that gives a real sense of some sort of post-traumatic stress. This is not a film that holds your hand, nor is it even interested in answering any of the questions it asks, not directly anyway. Instead, it portrays its perhaps controversial events in a dream-like fashion, exuding a sense of an inescapable past that might as well be happening now. It's like our protagonist is wading through a waking nightmare, unable to move on from the events that shape the film both in her head and on the streets. It's a fantastic decision, then, to put us directly in that mindset, to force us to face her fears as she does the same. We are never outside of this story, never above its characters. Instead, we are right there with them, behind their eyes, seeing exactly what they see and still just as powerless to stop it. Not only is the direction, and the decision to edit it non-linearly, perfect, but so are the performances. The eponymous kid is quite creepy, though only in the most mundane of senses, and we simultaneously feel sorry for him, want to empathise with him and truly fear him. It's only natural to be afraid of what you can't understand and the central debate, of nature vs nurture, is expertly told almost exclusively through visuals. Until, that is, the feature's only misstep, which is still a minor one, that sees the final scene dip deeper into dialogue than ever before and almost over-explain it all. Thankfully, restraint takes hold before this sequence reaches its tipping point, so it just sticks out as its most unsuccessful moment as opposed to a totally tone-deaf and destructive one. In the end, we are perhaps no closer to understanding why the events of the film happened the way they did. Certainly, there are theories you can come up with, little hints here and there that could suggest motive. That's perhaps its most realistic aspect, though. The lack of a proper, and inherently cinematic, resolution that ties everything up in a little bow. Real life isn't like that. It's messy and sometimes it doesn't make sense. People do things without good reasons, regardless of their mentalities. The lack of a definitive answer is the best full-stop the feature could have provided. Because if we want to understand the character, and prevent things like this from continuing to happen in real-life, we need to talk about Kevin. 7/10

You probably wouldn't expect a '7' rating from my title. In my opinion if a film can make you feel any strong emotion, it's done it's job. This film, although I'd never sit and watch it again - for reasons that will become apparent after seeing it - had me squirming in my chair and almost always on the edge of my seat. It leaves you with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach and will have you thinking about it for a while.Big props to Ezra Miller in this; every scene he's in you feel on edge. The first time I saw him was in 'Perks Of Being A Wallflower' where he plays a completely different and nearly opposite character. His performance is chilling and didn't get as much recognition as Tulsa Swinton for this film.

I thought I was going to be watching an Omen type typical horror movie. Couldn't really tell from the wardrobe and the way cars and things looked what year it was...looked like it took place in the 90's since no one ad a smart phone at any point.Anyway....I digress.... LOL. Overall I found the movie entertaining. Some questions weren't answered. The pacing had me super anxious for the story to unfold...what the hell was up with Kevin??? What did he do? The soundtrack was unsettling to a little annoying. There were no jumpscares or horror movie music which I now realize is an easy hat trick that helps me sense what's about to happen or take note of something. Aside from random folk songs here and there the movie is utterly quiet.OK...so spoiler time.At some point in the film i'm like okay... When TF are they going to have the "we need to talk about Kevin" conversation???? And then I laughed to myself,.....and thought..."ah-ha! never happened" therein lying a huge part of the problem. One reviewer wrote, that he thought it was stupid because no child is born evil, and no parent wold have handled a child who behaved this way so poorly. I beg to differ and offer examples such as Jeffrey Dahmer who was quoted as saying, "I had a normal loving childhood, my parents are not to be blamed for what I have done....I am just evil." And don't even get me started on what could lead a child to execute any number of the mass school shootings that seem to occur monthly here in the U.S. A child, aside from being exceptionally smart, can be atypically cold, unsympathetic, calculating and cruel but the question is how? Quite frankly there is such a thing as poor parenting due to lack of experience, common sense, priorities, coping skills, selfishness, denial. Newsflash just because a person is capable of producing a child doesn't necessarily mean they should given certain circumstances.There was definitely some serious and obscure hard to pin point problems with Kevin. He wasn't autistic, but it was something not to far off like maybe Asburger's Syndrome. But his mental apple didn't fall far from its tree. When this movie ended I turned around and watched it again looking a bit closer for the answer to my unanswered questions.It was clear that the mother was not thrilled with this pregnancy. They say normally a woman glows, it is an amazing experience yada yada yada, but this clearly wasn't mommer's experience. The birthing experience didn't seem to go well at all, and immediately after Kevin's born, she appears to be suffering PPD which is common for many women after child birth. It seems while Kevin was a very tiny baby and small child mommer didn't cope well with nor ever bond with Kevin. In Kevin's defense, a baby can't have a personal vendetta against you.....or could he???? LOL.And honestly after looking at again....mommer was definitely off a little herself as far as having traits that Kevin exhibited, lack of emotion, sympathy, reluctant to communicate. No normal person could have dealt with the aftermath the way she did. Mommer completely failed Kevin as there was at no point any outreach for help, therapy or intervention of any kind and she had the money, which meant she could have easily obtained those resources for Kevin.Mommer and Kevin both resented each other. Kevin at an early age was very intelligent and calculating having the upper hand on mommer. No parent should let a child assume the role of telling the parent what to do and the parent be looking to the child direction and approval...that proved to be a huge disservice to Kevin and everyone in the wake of his final epic act of detachment.I think there are a lot of little "Kevins" brewing in today's society from a combination of any number anti-personality disorders be it from poor genetics, subjectively poor environment or poor parenting skills.The only thing I didn't quite get was why the community with the exception of one wheelchair bound kid from the neighborhood had no sympathy for mommer in the the aftermath? The story wasn't developed enough to know how the hell they knew her part in Kevin's childhood development. I mean hay, I would assume that any kid that does what Kevin enacted was somehow failed by his parents, but I don't know, maybe people would react this way?Maybe that's something we could never know unless we found themselves being in a perfect storm situation like mommer. No one really knows what it's like for the parents of these kids who have committed these types of atrocities after the 10 oclock news has moved on to the next big story. These people may still have to live in their homes, go to their jobs, deal with looks, whispers, assumptions and accusations from their neighbors and locals in the community who haven't so quickly forgotten. Especially survivors, and friends and relatives of the recently dearly departed victims.Anyway....this was definitely a march to the beat of a different drummer type film in a lot of ways, but it was and interesting piece of entertainment.

Shallow characters, highly predictable story of a psycho kid, typical moronic, absent dad. Shattered and dragging narrative, chopping the story and leaving much of the details in the undertones. Slow paced to the point of being boring. Without a doubt, one of the worst films I've ever watched. The only thing that kept me from quitting this movie midway was that I was hoping that the annoying father would be killed at some point, and I wanted to understand why the mother got all that hatred from the community. It is not a thriller. It's a sad story, a tragedy-in-the- making, predictable, and a complete waste of time.