Review of Little Children (2006) by Carlton L — 10 Aug 2010

After the success of his debut film In the Bedroom (2001), writer/director Todd Field took on an adaptation of Tom Perrotta's 2004 novel Little Children. It takes a frank, honest look at suburbian life, it's got good performances in it, it feels real, and looks at the failings of human life, and there's something quite gothic and unusual about it all.

Set in a Massachusetts suburb, it has English Literature academic Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet), who feels out of place in this quite upper class suburb, and she feels out of place as a mother, and other mothers in the neighbourhood are quite snooty and in a loveless marriage.

She meets Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson), a former college football player who is a stay-at-home father, while his wife Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), brings home the money, but he wants to become a lawyer but has failed to pass the state bar exam.

Sarah and Brad strike up a friendship which becomes a secret relationship and have an affair, meanwhile Brad's friend ex-cop Larry (Noah Emmerich) has a vendetta against local sex offender Ronnie McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley) who is a misfit.

It is a powerful and passionate drama of the darkness of seemingly perfect lives. Even though somewhere came look like a nice place to live, peel it away, it isn't always perfect. It has some brilliant performances, not least from Winslet and Wilson, and Jackie Earle Haley got an Oscar Nomination for his part, his first role in 13 years.