Nordling here.
Lynne Ramsay's WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is a straight-up horror film, but the horror of it isn't in large amounts of gore or startling shock effects. KEVIN is a particular horror in that it strikes right at the heart of every parent's fears - what if your kid is just rotten, evil, psychotic to the core? And what if you could somehow be responsible for that? How could a person function, not knowing whether it is something they did, or just bad wiring?
The film has no easy answers. I read COLUMBINE, Dave Cullen's account of what led to the Littleton massacre, and the book takes great pains to say that although it has theories, no one will ever know for sure why those two boys did what they did. It paints Eric Harris as a complete psychopath, and Dylan Klebold as a follower in his wake, but the book wisely avoids concrete answers. Sometimes evil comes from the most seemingly innocuous places, and there's little society can do about it, and trying to understand why is like catching the wind in your fists.
When we first meet Eva (Tilda Swinton, who is phenomenal), she is living alone in a ramshackle house which looks like it's seen quite a few years. The living room is full of wine glasses, empty bottles, and pills, and very little to define it as any kind of home. Her house has been vandalized with red paint, and Eva fastidiously cleans it of, and it feels like something she's done many times before. Her first moment of happiness is when she is able to secure a job, but that's quickly gone as the local townspeople scorn and ostracise here. Her life consists mostly of Eva trying to avoid any kind of contact or exposure. She is punishing herself for something, and it feels like Eva is submitting to this life without fighting back. Apparently a tragedy occurred at the local school, and Eva is somehow responsible.
The film, in a non-linear fashion, shows what happened - Eva and her husband Franklin (John C. Reilly) meet, fall in love, get married, and Eva gets pregnant. When Kevin is born, it becomes quickly obvious that something is wrong - as a baby he constantly cries when Eva is around, and as he gets older Eva and Kevin (Ezra Miller) have an adversarial relationship. There is something fundamentally broken about Kevin. He learns to manipulate his father to his wishes, is antisocial in school, and has all the earmarks of another Eric Harris. As the film escalates to its horrifying conclusion, we travel with Eva, trying to understand why this is happening. How does evil happen? Is Eva to blame, or just bad genetics? The movie cannot answer, and the audience must try to decide for themselves.
Tilda Swinton is amazing as Eva. It's a brave, stunning performance and she evokes your sympathy even as you cringe at the bad choices she makes as a parent. No one is perfect - I know that as a father I've screwed up at times. It happens. Kids aren't china plates, and people make mistakes in judgment. Eva is no different, although there are moments on screen that you want to reach through and stop her from making the mistakes she makes. But Swinton puts us inside her life and her behavior, and while we feel bad for her situation, the film makes it clear that Eva has issues in her life as well. Her home with her family is barely decorated, and it's obvious that she doesn't want to be a parent but she does the best she can, even when she aspires to be free.
Kevin, played by Jasper Newell as a child and Ezra Miller as a teen, never lets us in to understand what drives him, and both of those performances are really hauntingly good. It's so good on Ezra Miller's part that I actually worry about his career - it's such an iconic personification of evil and insanity that he may be locked into it for life. John C. Reilly plays Franklin as clueless about the nature of Kevin, and there's no reason why he should be aware of what's happening with him - Kevin puts on such a good front that it would be almost impossible to see the signs. As Kevin's menatl state deteriorates, and his relationship with his mother crumbles, Eva is helpless to stop what his happening. There's a desperation to the film that is palpable, and audiences will find the film very difficult to shake.
The horror of the piece is best discovered and not talked about (pun intended) but make no mistake, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is a horror film, and it's horror that truly frightens and hits close to home. Don't let the wannabe made-for-TV Lifetime Channel title fool you; WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is certain to be talked about during Oscar season - it's thought-provoking, frightening, tough to watch, and very powerful.
Nordling, out.
