We Neet to Talk About Kevin

In the wake of high school shootings, Lionel Shriver wrote the novel that was adapted for the screenplay "We Need to Talk About Kevin". 

Lionel Schriver wrote the story in a series of letters between Eva (Tilda Swinton) and Franklin (John C. Reilly).   Lynne Ramsay wrote the screenplay and directed a visual that is flush with symbolism using red paint, strawberry jam, red jackets, etc.  Even without showing any violent acts, the film is filled with bloody symbolism that makes you cringe.  

The story follows two points in time for Eva Khatchadourian who is trying to piece together her life following the "incident".  She lives a solitary life as people in the community openly shun her to the point of violent actions toward her.  The incident involved her son Kevin (Ezra Miller), who Eva always had a troubled relationship with.  Whatever troubles she saw, Franklin, Eva's husband, just attributed it to Kevin being a typical boy.

Tilda Swinton received a nomination for her performance, which was deserved for her amazing range of emotion.  However, even more impressive was Ezra Miller.  He is an interesting young actor that with just his eyes can really deliver a frightening performance.  He was disturbing in “Another Happy Day” (2011) and I look forward to seeing him in his 2012 summer performance in “Perksof Being a Wallflower”.   The diabolical smile on his face reminds me of Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”.  He deserved a nomination for best actor (or supporting) for his performance.  

One of the best scenes has to be when the a pair of Mormon missionaries come to her door and ask where she will be spending the afterlife.  And with nearly no hesitation she responds that she is going to hell, eternal damnation the whole bit.  She shuts the door and the two missionaries turn to each other with a blank face unsure how to react. 

The culminating interaction between the mom and the son wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.  Due to the subject of the film, it is difficult to promote the film, but the performances stand up and give proper respect to the difficult emotions.  As compared to another film of the topic that came out last year "A Beautiful Boy", this too is deserving of a 5 Quack rating. 

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