Rent We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
3.6 of 5 from 445 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Eva (Swinton) puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin, but the relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgivable in the eyes of the community, leaving Eva grappling with her own feelings of grief and responsibility. Did she ever love her son? And how much of what Kevin did was her fault?
- Actors:
- Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rock Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, Kenneth Franklin, Leslie Lyles, Paul Diomede, Michael Campbell, J. Mallory-McCree, Mark Elliot Wilson, James Chen, Lauren Fox, Blake DeLong, Andy Gershenzon, Kelly Wade, Ursula Parker
- Directors:
- Lynne Ramsay
- Producers:
- Jennifer Fox, Luc Roeg, Robert Salerno
- Writers:
- Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear
- Studio:
- Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd.
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 2012, Award Winners, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Films That Go Bump in the Night: Mischief Night, Getting to Know: Tilda Swinton, Holidays Film Collection, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Steven Soderbergh, Top 10 Autumn Films, Top 10 Award Winners at the London Film Festival, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/02/2012
- Run Time:
- 107 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English, English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Cast and Crew Interviews
- Theatrical Trailer
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Reviews (7) of We Need to Talk About Kevin
Cartoonish nonsense - We Need to Talk About Kevin review by MonsieurK
One wouldn't expect great subtlety from anything derived from Lionel Shriver's silly novel, but the crudity of this film is really remarkable. There's barely a single believable scene in the entire thing, as two ludicrously mismatched adults (he's an obtuse dimwit and she's an ex-"adventurer", we're supposed to believe - which just seems to mean that she's written some guidebooks) struggle to deal with a child who is borderline satanic virtually from the outset. Virtually their only attempt to address their son's behaviour is to consult a doctor whose perfunctory examination of the boy is every bit as absurd as the parents' inability to discuss the situation. Every single character is a badly drawn cartoon (the mother's lumpen workmates are a particularly ridiculous gang of caricatures), and the splashes of blood-red that appear as a visual motif throughout the film epitomise the heavy-handedness of the whole enterprise. I very much liked Lynne Ramsay's early films, but this is utterly woeful.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Kevin - We Need to Talk About Kevin review by PH
The category 'really liked it' doesn't fit the experience. Awful but very good and stays in the memory, Excellent acting, particularly from 'Kevin'
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Disturbing, unsettling, haunting, creepy, harrowing - superb stuff - We Need to Talk About Kevin review by RP
Disturbing, unsettling, haunting, creepy, harrowing, superbly acted yet ultimately manipulative. I guess that describes both the destructive character of Kevin – and perhaps also the film. The story is told through the eyes of Kevin's mother, Eva Khatchadourian (superbly played by Tilda Swinton), formerly a successful travel writer but who can only find clerical work in a travel agency. Eva is hated and shunned by the community and it is clear that some terrible event has occurred. The grim story unfolds through flashbacks from before and after 'the incident'. Kevin's conception and birth has echoes of 'Rosemary's Baby' and Eva is ambivalent towards him, doesn't hold him close, doesn't bond with him, perhaps doesn't love him; in turn Kevin is rebellious and spiteful, even from a very early age. Is it nature or nurture? The only time he becomes animated is when read the story of Robin Hood, after which he becomes obsessed with archery... He sees his baby sister as a rival and treats her cruelly. Kevin is not your average nice boy. The film ends with Eva visiting Kevin in prison, ending on a nicely ambiguous note. This really is a superb film and while it has won many awards it missed out on the majors, and in my opinion (and of Dr Mark Kermode!) was cruelly overlooked for the Oscar nominations. Highly recommended – 5/5 stars.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
We Need to Talk About Kevin review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso
Based on the novel by Lionel Shriver Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk about Kevin is the painful and moving story of parents Eva (Tilda Swinton) and Franklin (John C. Reilly) whose son goes on a high school killing spree and their confused feelings of grief and guilt.
In many ways the movie seems far from the original American story in which Eva, a wife and mother, writes letters to her husband as the plot jumps back and forth in time. The movie continues to use the disjointed linear time frame, but does so in a very different yet equally effectively manner; manipulating the timeline has a very potent impact upon on the emotional structure of the movie: the linear manipulation helps to convey the pain and confusion felt by Kevin’s mourning parents.
Obviously this is not an easy film, with a rather risky subject and very complex emotions, yet the cast, particularly Swinton, really bring it to life with a genuine sense of humanity, pain and helplessness.
The first hour of the movie is daring and heartfelt, whilst the second half settles down somewhat, making the shifting emotions far easier to digest as an outsider. It remains a difficult film throughout however and is as such not a film one would describe as ‘enjoyable’. It is interesting and moving and even enlightening, yet the audience’s sense of relief when the credit’s finally role is palpable.
All in all, a very impressive movie that moves with an almost daring slowness and precision, very much worth seeing but certainly not for the faint hearted.