Review of Men, Women & Children (2014) by Nathan M — 18 Jan 2015

A movie that is trying to be so insightful and important and meaningful, but at every turn chooses to go for manipulative and predictable. Director Jason Reitman was a filmmaker that I fell in love with during his first four films, but with Men, Women, and Children, 2014 seems to be proving that he can't handle bigger topics. Labor Day, his film earlier this year, was a flop, and this movie is so bloated and overstuffed with characters and plot lines that none get their due service. Even if he could have streamlined the stories, I'm not sure it would have helped. Every moment in this film is dealt with such a heavy hand that the important topics overpower you and make you feel wrong for even watching them take place. Instead of enlightening the audience to the realities of the digital age, Men, Women, and Children seems to be more content with wallowing in the muck of it.

I want to be clear, there are a few stories that I found particularly interesting, but none were ever very compelling. Whether it was the over the top performances, the predictable plotting, or the dumb dialogue, none of these sensitive issues were handled in a very delicate manner. Instead, the film was more interested in shocking you at every turn, hoping that would resonate emotionally. And don't get me wrong, shock factor does work at first. You will be emotionally invested simply because of the topics the film deals with, but that doesn't mean the film is working. When you actually take a moment to think about what's going on, it's hard to really connect in any real level, and you just feel dirty for being involved with the film.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on some points, I'm not sure, but I really found so much of this movie tough to watch. And not in the way that good art should make you feel uncomfortable. This movie didn't push the boundaries of what I thought about these subjects, but just continued to remind me of all my deepest and darkest fears about society. The film feels like a teenager itself most of the time, monologuing about how deep and experienced in life it is, but really having nothing of value to add to the conversation.

And it makes me so frustrated to see how these topics were handled, because I believe a few of them were actually pretty important to be dealt with. Especially the one about the dangerous effects of pornography in a teenager's life. However, instead of giving us important insights into these character's lives and their struggles, we get heavy handed diatribes about the dangers of the internet. I really wanted a lot more from this movie.