Review of Little Children (2006) by Harry W — 11 May 2014

Scoring Kate Winslet another Academy Award nomination, Little Children sounded like a film interesting enough to check out.

Little Children has a few little odd elements to it since Todd Field's style is very innovative, although to a fault at some points/.

The narration in a Little Children is a little odd. While I find that it gives the film an iconic style of its own, it takes a while to get used to it. At first it sounds like Microsoft Sam which makes the experience feet artificial, and from there it begins to feel like an educational video. This style later develops into an interesting asset of the film's entertainment value, but it takes a while to get there. For a while, it has Little Children feeling a little artificial and strange, as if Little Children is intentionally meant to be a moral tale with the message dictated to viewers by a narrator. It sort of creates mixed feelings, but eventually it becomes less prevalent in the film and makes only occasional appearances at moments where it is beneficial. But still, it is an odd element to adjust to.

Little Children was a very fascinating film to me because of the kind of weird things it had me feeling. It had me sympathising for people committing adultery and even for a child molester. I looked at Sarah Pierce and understood that her marriage was loveless and her husband had a sick obsession with internet pornography which prevented him from giving her the attention that she deserved, and I saw Brad Adamson and understood that although him and his wife were in love, his physical desires were being neglected by his wife. Although the latter is less sympathetic, I still found myself sympathising for people breaking the sanctity of marriage which was an odd yet valid feeling that I experienced watching Little Children. The story involves the viewers deeply with the lives of three characters and gives a fair and equal balance to them all without giving too much focus to the less interesting or less important characters. Although the story doesn't have too much territory to cover, its characters are all very interesting and they more than make up for it. Little Children examines the people in a small town during their day to day lives as their relationships with each other and the world around them begin to change. The importance of the film lies with the characters and the way that Todd Field examines them through his intelligent script and his insightful handling of it as a film director, and he does so through an excellently written script which earns its Academy Award nomination and allows the natural talents of the actors to flourish from there.

And the realistic portrayal of a small Massachusetts suburban community is enhanced both by the dull atmosphere of the place which encourages determined motives in its characters as well as the nice scenery which is captured by appealing cinematography. The musical score in Little Children is also good because it is a gentle and subtle musical score which reminds audiences of the rather empty mood of the film and its simplicity, although also coming at the right time to reveal the kind of movement that the story is making and the emotional state of the characters. Little Children is always a subtle film which conveys its drama realistically without going into melodrama, even when it deals with the climactic drama relating to a community of people scared at the presence of a paedophile or the death of his mother. Little Children lets the drama of the film shock its viewers without excessively emphasising or dramatising mintute elements of things, and it takes a fair and equal look at its characters from all perspectives and prevents it from being a bluntly one sided film.

One of the best assets that leads to the success of Little Children is the strength of the cast.

Kate Winslet's lead performance in Little Children is great. She is known for portraying a lot of complicated characters where she dedicates her best skills to getting every inch of the character right, but in Little Children she portrays a character that is complex for different reasons. Kate Winslet faces a simple character whose depth all comes from within and her complex way of approaching the various situations presented to her. With natural charm, Kate Winslet gives a fine lead performance which is flawlessly convincing as a mother and a wife in a troubled marriage. Little Children capitalises on her best skills in a small scale character as well as her vivacious sex appeal without putting excessive emphasis on it, and she proves to be the perfect casting choice for the lead role. She shares a great chemistry with the surrounding cast members, particularly with Patrick Wilson, and it is easy to see how she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Jackie Earle Hailey gives an exceptional performance in Little Children. Possibly the greatest performance of his career, Jackie Earle Hailey's performance in the role of Ronald James McGorey, his return to acting after 13 years of absence from the spotlight, displays him stepping up from the roles he was known for playing as a child and sees him taking an ambitious and effective step. Capitalising on his small stature and his thin appearance, Little Children makes use of his somewhat awkward physical demeanour to make him a memorable sight which is somewhat startling, and so putting him in the role of a convicted paedophile is more than memorable from then on. Working with his physicality, Jackie Earle Hailey is able to easily create a character who is both a sympathetic and disturbing figure for many reasons. He puts a lot of depth into the role and gives the deepest and greatest performance of his career, as well as the greatest performance I have ever seen of anyone playing a child molester. Jackie Earle Hailey reinvents his career with Little Children, and his performance is clearly the greatest of the film and one of its best aspects.

Patrick Wilson's character is a great one because he represents the male character in the film who must face his urge to be young and wild again, a part of the male psyche that many will deal with in life. He portrays it honestly, and one scene is particularly interesting when he attempts to forget about the sight of Sarah Pierce and think about his wife Kathy Adamson who he still loves. The character is a really complicated one for any male viewer who understands what he is going through, and Patrick Wilson takes on the role with easy charisma and natural skill which he puts into his line delivery and his ability to interact with the surrounding cast.

Jennifer Connelly's small supporting performance is also a charming and friendly one which makes the story more compelling. She is one of the victims of the story as her slow loss of connection with her husband which comes from her role as a mother among other things. It is easy to feel sympathy for her, and Jennifer Connelly's natural charm in the role makes her a genial presence for the story.

Noah Emmerich and Phyllis Somerville also give fine supporting performances.

So Little Children is an insightful and striking drama film which is subtle yet effective and is anchored by Todd Field's strong direction and insightful screenplay as well as an excellent cast.