Review of We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) by Hatem A — 03 Feb 2013

4.0/4.0.

This was one uneasy film to watch. I mean that in a good way. The conclusion of the movie is known as it is told in flashback but the great tension that builds up to its finale is something to behold.

At its surface, "We Need to Talk About Kevin" may seem as an exploration of a high school massacre - a harrowing event that is disturbingly recurring in America. It is more an exploration of a mother-son relationship and raises the question of what went wrong without (wisely) giving any concrete, in-your-face answers.

The movie is told in flashback mode with Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) is living alone in a little house in the aftermath of the incident in a community that severely despises her, seeks a job in travel agency while visiting her son in prison every week as they sit in front of each other silently. In flashback mode, she recalls her life with son Kevin (played by Ezra Miller in his teen years) from the time she conceives him with her partner Franklin (John C. Reilly). The flashback is not for the most part told in a coherent, chronological manner with tidbits that are as the movie proceeds, we learn as crucial memories.

Kevin, from his toddler years, is never a likeable character; however, a proper balance is struck so that he is not fully perceived as a wholly demonic child. The mother, although she is generally pleasant, is partly to blame. Eva is a travel writer and from day one it seems that pregnancy and having a child was not something on her mind. She is not meant to be a mother. Although to an onlooker she may seem to be doing her job right, she seems to never have wanted the child and the problem is her son knows it. Kevin is a cunning child nonetheless and he succeeds in playing his cards right. He seemingly loves his father who sees nothing wrong with him and seems to side with him all the time. When Eva decides to have another child, things only get worse.

This is definitely one of the most intriguing mother-son relationships ever portrayed on film. We get to see the subtle mistakes that she makes and we get to understand why she stays quite. The movie makes the daunting inference that Kevin and Eva, despite their marked differences and constant bickering, are actually one of the same.

One of the main reasons the movie works is a flawless, haunting, multi-layered performance by Swinton (one of the best actresses around) giving a near-career best performance. Without big moments, she says a lot in a subtle performance. We get to understand what she is thinking without saying much. She tries to secretly piece the puzzle that is Kevin when deep down she knows the answer. It is definitely an utterly challenging performance. Miller is also uniquely diabolical in a very nuanced performance. Also big kudos to the child actors playing younger versions of Kevin particularly Jasper Newell playing Kevin in ages 6-8.

Director and co-writer Lynne Ramsay ("Ratcatcher") does a great job in adapting Lionel Shriver's novel of the same name that examines that events pre and post an event that another movie could have just focused on the event itself more than anything. This is a flawless psychological masterpiece that examines some controversial questions about motherhood. It is more nerve-raking than any big budget thriller and will stay with you long after you have seen it.