Review of Carnage (2011) by Stevenf — 24 Jan 2013

Taking place entirely in one room, Carnage tells the story of four relatively ordinary people,who soon bow to pressure to vent their frustration at the world, each other and themselves.

After their son strikes another child with a stick, married couple Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet visit the home of the victims parents, played by Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly.

What follows are some of the funniest situations to occur, mainly because they are the typical, awkward situations that can occur when entertaining strangers.

Christoph Waltz is particularly funny as Alan Cowen, clearly not wanting to be there, his unwillingness to care about the situation makes it funnier to watch and certainly helps with his deliverance of dialogue that can only be described as genius.

Jodie Foster's persistent crying/general annoyance at everything, while clearly scripted, can become irritating, but she acts this well, bouncing off the other mother, Kate Winslet, who has a surprisingly good comedic present, taking the weakened persona of the four.

John C. Reilly is brilliant as usual, While Waltz may be the standout, it's Reilly who is spot on with his puns, deliverance and timing, he is used to it after all. Such a simple premise works with these four big stars, its delightful to see actors leave their comfort zone and impress equally as much in other fields.