Steve Reviews We Need to Talk About Kevin

Storytelling through film is typically done in a linear fashion. Mixing up the timeline of events can be a tricky undertaking. If done correctly, you end up with brilliance like Memento or Pulp Fiction or The Usual Suspects. If not, well… you get Mike Nichol’s Closer.

We Need To Talk About Kevin falls somewhere in the middle. The beginning is a little choppy, but it settles down after about a half hour or so. The edits/jumps become less frequent, but by then, the story has taken off, and I found it completely gripping.

Kevin stars Tilda Swinton as a wife and mother whose life has seemed to fall apart. The film jumps around between “then” and “now,” telling the chilling tale of her relationship with her son, Kevin, who seemed to disdain his mother from day one.

The story is haunting. It makes you feel uneasy, knowing that something just isn’t quite right. As the pieces come together, the picture that is painted makes your skin crawl (at least it did mine).

Swinton is phenomenal. The former Oscar winner (Michael Clayton) will most likely end up on the list of five Best Actress nominees. The heartbreak and frustration her character exudes is unmatched by anything she’s done before. In my opinion, it’s her finest work.

The relatively unknown Ezra Miller plays the teenage version of Kevin. While all of the “life stages” of Kevin are pretty unpleasant, Miller’s Kevin left the biggest impression. He’s cold and calculated, and he’s damn good. Why hasn’t he been on any list of Supporting Actor nominations yet?

As a whole, I loved the film. It’s not quite horror, but there is an uneasy sense of suspenseful drama that doesn’t slow down the entire time. It’s probably “too much” to make the list of Best Picture nominees, so I don’t expect it to end up there. Swinton, though, should be a lock. When this shows up at a theatre near you, go see it.

-Steve
12.17.2011