Kevins reaction is an indictment of both Eva and audiences expectations and their desire for his complicity in perpetrating the fraud. You couldnt have possibly thought that seeing someone eat lychee would be so distressing, but Ezra Miller makes it happen. For instance, post-partum depression similar to hers is very common and probably didn't do as much damage as she ascribes to it. When Eva gets pregnant for the second time, Kevin feels that he has become estranged from the family and grows jealous. Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. We had a lot more time to prepare for the character, had a lot more time to delve into the script and the role wasn't just like, you know, here's four pages, learn it by tonight, you know? We Need to Talk About Kevin. It must be something like this to have a nervous breakdown. I think Jentorra felt a little betrayed by her, and there was no real reconciliation with them at the end. So what about Franklin? Therefore, the sense of clothing provides a link between the otherwise antagonistic mother and son. Likewise, don't respond to trollish comments; just report them and ignore them. For full Oscars coverage and commentary by its reviewer, Fr. Sometimes Zuzu's petals are all you have to hold onto. In reality, Kevin has an acquired taste for sadistic vengeance, and the lychee symbolizes Celias eye in the scene. The colour red is a recurring motif in the film. KATY: It was really different, obviously, than the comic book version. Motherhood was therefore intended as a punishment.. The film explores and identifies the hope to be found in the ashes of Ground Zero and in the wake of Columbine while never once attempting to sugarcoat the real darkness and danger that exist in our world. Does Eva's open contempt for Kevin drive him to darkness? That the film works so brilliantly is a tribute in large part to the actors. And it works - Eva's confrontation was brutally dishonest, but after his reaction she's barely containing her seething rage and the truth of it is all over her face. But the two most significant and poignant moments are found at the end of the film, when the 18-year-old Kevin, two years into a prison sentence for a heinous incident at his high school (yes, its as bad as you think), responds to his mothers query as to why he did what he did. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. And the whole thought was just to fight and keep fighting? Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. Maternal ambivalence turns into filial antagonism, colouring her perception of him as inherently evil. This review of the film was originally published on December 22, 2011. But Eva is incapable of showing him the love that he deserves, even after trying her best. ET. I think that she and Jentorra had a huge past together. Lionel Shriver's source novel is a quirky, disturbing take on the high school killer story. The film opens to the sounds of sprinklers tch-tch-ing, before the first shot reveals a half-open patio door whose curtains are wafting with the wind. Kevin is neither rational nor articulate enough to identify his desire, that is, to have an authentic and fully realized relationship with his mother. Eva, in turn, becomes more protective of Celia. We gather she didn't want to get pregnant, isn't sure why she's married, is a mother who tries to mask hostility with superficial kindness. Because children are normally associated with innocence, creepy children are a tried concept in horror films. Swinton said as much in an interview, Its about her fears and the horror of what she knows about herselfusing him as a kind of projection of her own self-loathing. This model of motherhood so deeply rooted as it is in the biological doesnt leave much room for aberration, such that any rejection by the child becomes an indictment of the mothers entire existence. A lawsuit could force the F.D.A. Some of the content presented on our sites has been provided by fans, other unofficial websites or online news sources, and is the sole responsibility of the source from which it was obtained. The sound of him savouring the juicy fruit a fruit he doesn't even like in deliberate crunches of sinister delight becomes unsettling when paired with the thought of Celia's lost eye. Fast forward to fifteen year old Kevin, and we can see that this habit has become his worldview. While Eva is shown throughout the film to be indifferent toward her son, Kevin's actions are fueled by his desire to spite her. None of that takes anything away from yet another deeply felt performance by the always-interesting Swinton. This is the fear of parenthood. Kevin's bedroom is actually the biggest red flag in the film, and the fact that neither Eva nor Franklin noticed that Kevin's bedroom clearly displays the signs of mental illness until he was fifteen years old proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Franklin had never looked in his bedroom, wasn't interested in his interests or hobbies, and didn't want to know what he did in his spare time. See production, box office & company info. Yet it is in those infrequent instances of relief, conversion and mercy that the film finds its identity and direction. It'd be so much fun. Eva and Franklin are a happily married couple till Eva gives birth to Kevin. His reply: "You don't want to kill your audience.". Left to pick up the pieces is his mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton). He buys a few locks before the school sabotage and has a decisive plan regarding how to go about it. describes the "nature vs. nurture" debate. ", As with any book-to-film adaptation, some of the nuances were lost in translation. Theres a possibility that maybe before all this happened that there was that naivete to Jentorra, but yeah, I don't know that she was re-inspired by Cassies energy, I guess, as much as like, Hey, this is the real world and you need to kind of catch up to where we are.. Anyways I haven't read the book but I guess I probably should lol, Scan this QR code to download the app now. I have the feeling that this film, by entering Eva's mind, sees only what has been battering her down for 16 years. Kids banging on the door on Halloween in the present evokes a memory of young Kevin throwing all his food at the fridge. Read More: Best Movies About Mental Illness. Eva is entirely bound by the expectations of a culture that fetishizes the mommy and insists upon a particular quality and dynamic in order for relationships to be healthy and normative. We see her birthing of him as rather fraught and his incessant crying drives her nearly mad. Based on Lionel Shriver's 2003 bestseller of the same name, Lynne Ramsay's 2011 film explores a broken family, mental illness, and the aftermath of a tragedy. Last March, Bruce Willis family said his aphasia had affected his cognitive abilities. At first glance, it would seem that Kevin is yet another installment in the pantheon of post-modern films intent upon assaulting the human desire to give meaning to the world. Kevin does not play ball, and he becomes increasingly manipulative. Franklin, on the other hand, does not give him a path to honest interactions. Eva is attempting to play the part of mommy as defined by popular culture; the cooing, gooey, all-encompassing ubiquitousness to her child. See movies like "The innocents" (1961, Jack Clayton) (pay attention to the title) and "The omen" (1976, Richard Donner). Hes a friendly and vibrant young priest and a gifted preacher. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Rated R The murder spree began with his father and sister suffering the same fate earlier that day. You tell me." Kevin grows a liking for the fictional character of Robin Hood, and his father gifts him a bow and arrow. Her husband Franklin (John C. Reilly) dismisses her concerns and uproots their bustling city life for a quiet home in the suburbs. She's like a fish out of water. Trademark | Eva rushes to the school to see Kevin getting arrested. Kevin, it seems, is a volatile Holden Caulfield for the generation. The cast ensemble, with Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and Ezra Miller in a menacing role, cannot be praised enough. Did they create a monster, or was he born that way? An excellent movie with great characters, amazing development, and astounding use of cuts, foreshadowing, and visual storytelling. In a film otherwise devoid of hope, these subtle suggestions give the audience a sense of comfort. Go do something. Kevin's killings, meanwhile, are the absent, invisible center of Ramsay's film. Reilly is typically wonderful in a thankless role, while both juvenile actors evince a low-grade rage that never moves into complete disconnection or full-blown psychosis. She is the wrong person in the wrong life with the wrong child. Kevin is far too malevolent, which might work in a Rosemary's Baby horror context, but not here (admittedly it does verge on horror at times but ultimately we are asked to empathise with Eva's travails as a mother). Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg's response to Donald Trump's refusal to accept any responsibility for the impact his massive deregulations have had went viral on Thursday as video of him encouraging the ex-president to support the Biden administration's efforts went viral. In We Need to Talk about Kevin, Eva is literally on trial for parental negligence. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Kevin is a story of hope for a new millennium, an Its a Wonderful Life in the age of school shootings and planes crashing into buildings a world-weary world that has been bombarded by nihilistic themes in their narratives for the better part of a century. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Rather, Ramsay's film is an extended treatment of the optics of grief and guilt. Speaking with O'Brian following the film's release, she shared her experience on working on the biggest project of her career and how she and director Peyton Reed crafted an elaborate backstory for the leader of the rebellion. Each rewatch only feels more rewarding because Ramsay is so pure and gifted a filmmaker she rattles and revises our preconceptions of what a movie and yes, mother too can be. Eva can only play at being mommy, and so when Kevin refuses her attempts to breastfeed and is only appeased by the presence of his affable father, played by John C. Reilly, her whole world crashes down around her and her value as a person comes into question. Indeed, Kevin is a relentless film that gives its audience few opportunities to come up for air from the depths of anguish to which it plummets. An early scene shows Eva apparently participating in an orgy in a lake of blood. It may not strike one as something extraordinary, but one needs to understand that Kevins mind is wired differently. So, his dressing sense is perhaps not an indictment of his bitterness. Genres: Psychological Drama, Family Drama. Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly What feels like a simple story feels so much larger due to the development of every character and the world around them, it almost feels like you know these characters personally and feel for them when something happens, that is a what great movie does. Years later, the birth of her daughter Celia, on the other hand, feels more festive. 1 'Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum' (2018) Image via Showbox. Despite the fact that Eva is a travel writer of particular renown, she is bound by an understanding of mother/child relationships that do not correspond with her own relationship with her son. When Eva dips her whole face in a basin of water, her face turns into Kevin's. There is no pattern. So, I think it'd be really, really cool to see if they came up with something else. About | Kevin knows that Celia is his mothers favorite offspring, and he goes to great lengths to make his mother feel uncomfortable. Indeed, Kevin is a relentless film that gives its audience few opportunities to come up for air from the depths of anguish to which it plummets. Helmed by Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay based on the Orange Prize-winning eponymous 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a jarring, erratic, and sometimes profoundly disturbing 2011 psychological thriller that creates an uncanny place in the viewers mind. He's positive, cheerful, disconnected; he always behaves as nicely as he can, and in doing so, suggests his profound cluelessness. To express concern over a child's habitual malice is coded as monstrous. The real horror in the movie is society's dogmatic conception of motherhood, and the pressure to live up to it. Nature refers to how they were born, while nurture refers to how they were raised. She could move away for a fresh start, but she's shown setting up a room for him, complete with his navy blue bedding and Robin Hood book. The film moves without any pattern between past, present and who knows when. Rated R Swinton is collecting a bevy of early plaudits and nominations, as well she should. ROHAN: You're on a cast with Paul Rudd, David Dastmalchian,William Jackson Harper, and so manyfunny people. KATY: Yeah, I mean, this obviously had the difference between TV and movie. The condition causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech. There are two really great examples of this: the first is the bow. Ramsay builds on Shriver's idea of internalised blame with how Eva sees herself following the tragedy. Nothing makes sense. The name itself Eva is not chosen by chance, echoing the fatally disobedient woman of the Bible, whose act determined the loss of the Garden of Eden. So, what did that exchange mean for the Khatchadourians? and Stephen Broussard, p.g.a., Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania also stars Jonathan Majors as Kang, David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O'Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as Quaz and Bill Murray as Lord Krylar. Copyright 2023. Apparently even before he began to talk, Kevin made a vow to punish Eva for her feelings. For mothers always seem to be on trial. Directed by: Lynne Ramsay. They never talk about Kevin. Ironically he becomes a miniature doppelganger of her, all sharp angles and androgynous countenance lying in direct contrast to the lovably rounded and craggy features of his father. It was a really short moment, and then yeah, I would have loved to have had some interaction with Janet, but that wasn't even in there. However it wasn't in the film I watched today and I can't find the scene anywhere..did I just imagine this scene?! She mentions that she believes he'll be released in five years. This is the scene where the film begins and the ending comes full circle revisiting the moment of rupture in Evas life. Eva finally asks why he did it. This is also true of Eva, but we see the conflict in her about her son's mental state. If she had her way, she would put her life on rewind and start all over again maybe even as somebody else, since she's not very fond of herself. Ramsay establishes a sense of aloofness in Eva with Kevin still in utero. Only the daughter, Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich), seems halfway normal. It's been 10 years since its world premiere at Cannes, and we need to talk about what made it such a haunting meditation on motherhood. Indeed, one of. Watch Indie Spirit Stars Suggest Indie Gems You Must Watch Right Now. When Kevin paints Evas room with color splashes, Eva thinks that Kevin wanted to ruin the room, but maybe he really wanted to make it more special. ROHAN: Jentorra does have a comics counterpart, did you draw on those stories to inform your backstory or did you work with Peyton to create anew backstory for the film? We're supposed to understand Kevin through Eva's flashbacks, which are indeed confusing, but not chronologically, where the difference lies solely in Tilda Swinton's hairstyle. Footsteps approach the tent and a figure walks past. One day, Celia loses one of her eyes from toxic cleaning supplies, and Kevin becomes a prime suspect. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we have officially entered the dead of winter that time after Christmas and New Years when, Earlier this year my home parish welcomed a new associate pastor. Art and Divine Beauty: An Antidote to the Winter Blues, The Prodigal Son: How to Overcome the 3 Lies We Tell Ourselves. Eva gets pregnant for a second time and gives birth to a little daughter Celia. Besides their physical likeness, Eva and Kevin also share a certain coldness, which plays into Eva's self-hatred. She obviously feels complicit and takes on the role of communal scapegoat as a way to expiate her own guilt as well as to grieve the loss of her family. So I am thinking, was he born evil from the very beginning and she knew it and treated him alike evil from the very beginning? Kevin is seen to be wearing short clothes most of the time, like when Eva takes him out for mini-golfing. Some interpreted scene at the gym as her being repulsed by pregnant bodies, but I am thinking she was like "why can't I be happy and bubbly with this child like they are?" True paternal love would have been expressed as abiding concern for the man his son could grow up to be if there really was a danger of mental illness, and result in the appropriate physical and mental health care to avoid a catastrophe. At first glance, it would seem that Kevin is yet another installment in the pantheon of post-modern films intent upon assaulting the human desire to give meaning to the world. Matters worsen when she becomes pregnant with a daughter. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" leans into that debate, showcasing a resentful mother, a passive father, and a child with an untreated mental illness. The Ending Of We Need To Talk About Kevin Explained. Does their parental neglect make them culpable for the lives he took? Don't use this space to complain about the average rating, chart position, genre voting, others' reviews or ratings, or errors on the page. While Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniadidn't bring back several mainstays of the wider Ant-Man family, the film did introduce a number of new allies, namely Jentorra and her Freedom Fighters. Rated the #74 best film of 2011, and #5264 in the greatest all-time movies (according to RYM users). By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. In a sonic sleight-of-hand, the joyful cheers alchemise into the sorrowful cries of the families and friends of Kevin's victims. We Need to Talk About Kevin : r/books. If this were an act of self-penance it might make sense, but there's no real sense Eva is doing it out of guilt either. Franklin himself lives in a state of demented decency, deceiving himself that his family are living acceptable lives. Stripping the screenplay off words, the disturbance arises from a seamless amalgamation of image and sound. A sonic sleight-of-hand, the birth of her daughter Celia, on high. ( 2018 ) Image via Showbox Ezra Miller makes it happen Eva gets for. Seeing someone eat lychee would be so distressing, but Ezra Miller makes it happen how Eva sees herself the! How Eva sees herself following the tragedy birth to Kevin is also true Eva! Colouring her perception of him as rather fraught and his incessant crying drives her nearly mad colouring her of... 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