'We Need To Talk About Kevin'

'We Need To Talk About Kevin' (11) (R) (4 STARS) (Highest Rating)

Writers: Rory Stewart Kinnear and Lynne Ramsay
Based on a novel by Lionel Shriver
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer

When a child does something unspeakable and cruel should we blame the parent? When should a parent be strict with their child and when should they be understanding and loving? Can a child just be so evil and helpless that even any type of parent can't make good out of the situation? Those are the questions I have been struggling with long after I have seen the haunting, uncomfortable and powerful new drama "We Need To Talk About Kevin". What we have here is an unflinching, no holds barred study on parenthood and evil with an unforgettable, amazing performance by Tilda Swinton!

Swinton plays Eva who is the mother of Kevin and we can't tell what kind of parent she is and that is one of the movie's strengths. She is married to Franklin who is played by the amazing John C. Reilly. Kevin is seen in the movie in three different stages in life as a toddler, a 6 year old and then a teenager. Kevin seems troubled and he also seems to have a strong dislike of his mother. The movie never explains what is really wrong with Kevin and I loved that. There are no easy answers in this movie and there shouldn't be. This is not a movie that wraps everything up in a bow. This is one of the most haunting and unsettling dramas I have seen in a very long time.

Kevin also treats his father with more respect and the father is more clueless to what is going on with Kevin. As most mothers spend more time with their child we see Eva trying to reach out to her child but to no avail. Does Kevin not connect with his mother emotionally because Eva isn't loving enough and is a bad, ineffective parent? It is hard to figure that out in this movie and I think that is why the movie is so haunting, effective and unsettling. The movie is told in a fractured narrative and sometimes the movie is shot in a distracting way but I think that is the movie's aim, to make us feel confused and emotionally off guard. As Kevin grows into being a teenager we think he might have matured a little and we hope that Kevin and Eva might have gotten closer to each other but we are wrong. There is a powerful and chilling scene where 6 year old Kevin gets sick and something changes in his attitude towards his mother and when he gets better there again is a complete 180.

It turns out that Kevin is still emotionally detached from life and his mother. Does he seem detached from life because he was brought up with too little love and support from his mother? The movie builds up to a shattering and haunting tragedy and now we are even coming up with more questions and conflicted feelings. There is a powerful scene at the end between mother and son where we might get answers. That scene will not give us anything and it is the coldest and most haunting scene I have ever seen in a drama like this. I will not give away the tragedy that comes about at the end of this movie because I didn't know about it and find that the movie will be more powerful for you if you like bleek and despairing dramas that hit hard.

Tilda Swinton is an unique actress and she is incredible here playing what I imagine would be a very tough role. It is one of the best performances of the year by far and it is a travesty she was overlooked for an Oscar nomination. This is not mainstream Hollywood filmmaking and I think it is too bold for the mall type theatre crowd. Swinton has a tough task and she looks in a state of shock through a lot of the movie but there are moments that she creates that are all right choices for an actress and they are masterful and subtle. This is a beautiful performance and Tilda Swinton is one of our best and most unique actresses we have, she is a treasure in my opinion.

John C. Reilly has been playing characters in a lot of comedies lately but he also shows what a great, serious actor he can be. The three actors playing Kevin at different ages are all solid and it is a tough role for all of them. This movie could have come off as silly and unintentionally funny and awkward. It does not, in fact it comes off the exact opposite, powerful, chilling and uncompromising. I have read a certain review of this movie that says that this movie is shot like a horror movie and that it comes off silly like a remake of something like "Problem Child", the horrible comedy with John Ritter. I disagree strongly, this movie never makes a false move and yes it is a horrific movie and horrible, evil things will happen so maybe that is why it seems like it was filmed like a horror movie.

This provocative and troubling movie would be a great movie to debate about and to talk about in groups long after you see it. It will bring up questions on what kind of parent is Eva and is Kevin pure evil or is he troubled because his parents didn't raise him up right and didn't give him enough love. This is not the feel good movie of the year and it is heavy stuff but I want to see it again and again to see if I can come up with answers. I would love to see it with a group and then have a discussion after. I think this is a movie everyone should see and it strongly ties in to what is happening to teenagers these days with the various shootings and killings going on in our World. I can't shake this movie or Tilda Swinton's performance off. "We Need To Talk About Kevin" is one of the most powerful and sad movies I have ever seen and one of the very best movies of 2011.