Review of Carnage (2011) by Jonathan B — 30 Jun 2012

I am generally a big fan of films taking place in confined spaces. Carnage does not make that cut. For one, the very fact it is only set in one apartment, excluding the opening and closing shots, is so obviously forced and manufactured nothing feels natural.

I don't know if the stage play proved better, but here I found it laughable how many times they were "close" to leaving, only to get sucked back every time. There was no real drama or stakes.

Then there's the fact everything in Carnage feels so petty. There's little to no meat on its bones, with nothing particularly enlightening about the characters or whatever it's trying to say about them or us.

The acting by our four participants is good enough to keep us somewhat interested in what's going on, but that might be more due to me already liking their past work going in than how they perform here.

What we end up with is a scant 80-minute talkfest that feels longer and like a missed opportunity, especially with Polanski coming off one of his best films of his later years, The Ghost Writer. Oh, well.