Review of Little Children (2006) by Matt R — 03 Nov 2009

I found 'little children' highly engaging. i'm tempted to use the word 'poignant', but I think i've been using it too much without fully understanding what it means... so i'll stick with 'insightful' -- but with the distinct possibility of being 'poignant' ;) i'm feeling really 'mature' having an appreciation for this kind of film.

maybe it'll spark some kinda mini midlife crisis ;) but seriously, the screenplay was fantastic. I particularly liked the sections of narration -- it gave a deep and literary feel. it was shot really well and the acting was great too.

the last 25 mins or so started to remind me just a little of 'crash' which isn't a particularly good thing, cos it was a bit heavy-handed for me. so even though 'little children' never went there, the similarity in tone was a little off-putting.

but that's just a personal thing. I always used to associate this film with 'the last kiss' cos I think they were released at a similar time and seemed to deal with the same kind of subject matter.

but now that i've seen (and enjoyed) both, I reckon 'the last kiss' has a little more of a lite/mainstream edge to it, while 'little children' is more like serious filmmaking. it got 3 oscar nominations (including best adapted screenplay) in 2006 which are certainly deserved.