We Need to Talk About Kevin – 2011
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a really powerful movie, difficult to watch for sure. Right from the start we see this dreamlike imagery that we can’t make real sense of. Still, it sucks us in as we urge for the chance to see a glimpse of what it’s all about. It’s cleverly filmed, and Tilda Swinton does a fantastic job in the lead role!
The essential story is about a mother trying her utmost best to love her son, a son that already from birth was very strange and different, manipulative even. That, in itself, is a very fascinating story, but it becomes even more fascinating when the story is told from different time perspectives. There’s no linear storytelling here. To begin with, we don’t know what going on. We get that Tilda Swinton’s character has been involved somehow in something traumatic. Between the lines, we soon understand that it was because of something that her son did. She’s hated in the community and her home gets vandalized early on, she gets slapped in the face in public, and so on.
Intriguing
For me, this is a very intriguing concept. I get more and more sucked into what’s really going on and what has caused this in the first place. We get a few hints of the son’s personality but never so much as it gives away what’s to come. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a movie that gives you a piece of the puzzle and at the same time randomizes the other parts. You can suspect what the final motive might be, but it’s not totally clear until you’ve seen it for yourself.
We Need to Talk About Kevin is also a commentary about who’s really to blame for violent tragedies. Is it parents that don’t see or even ignore the signs? Is it society that doesn’t equip parents with the knowledge needed to see the signs to begins with? There’s also the question of if evil behavior is inherited or a product of the environment. I don’t have any children of my own so I can say if you still love them no matter what they do. But I would imagine I would have a hard time staying in touch and still care for a truly evil person even if it were my own flesh and blood.
Nearly perfect
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a nearly perfect movie for me. It brings my feelings to the surface and I’m totally exhausted when it’s over. I’m angry, terrified and I can’t let go of what I just saw. There are scenes playing out over and over again in my head even after it has ended. I still stink about the significance of certain scenes and how the almost claustrophobic aura of the story is made so terrifying. The only thing that put it down a notch for me is that it could’ve been a few minutes shorter. The length made me kind of unfocused at times.
