Review of We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) by Lisa L — 04 Apr 2013

If you are expecting the typical evil kid movie, then you will be either sorely disappointed or pleasantly surprised, for We Need to Talk About Kevin blends elements of horror cinema and arthouse cinema in a way that is truly unique, riveting, and disturbing. A truly visionary film, WNTTAK follows mother Eva (Tilda Swinton) who is attempting to deal with the fact that her teenage son massacred his schoolmates. As she attempts to cope with her current life, the film flows in a stream-of-consciousness fashion back through her life, her marriage, the upbringing of her son, and the tragic events that unfolded.

From the film's opening moments until the credits roll, Lynne Ramsay proves herself to be a true cinematic visionary as she blends visual and auditory elements together into an experience that is simultaneously beautiful and unsettling.

A film about selfishness, identity, desire, and regret, WNTTAK shows a mother whose son seems to despise her from her infancy and tries to use even their tender moments together as nothing more than fodder for later torture. Harrowing, provocative, and unforgettable, Ramsay's film makes us reconsider the relation between mother and child, the origins of school shootings, and our own intensely personal struggles to maintain a sense of personal identity as we begin to blend into our families.