We Need to Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay’s We Need To Talk About Kevin is a tough film to watch.  With an incredible performance by Tilda Swinton at its center, the film explores the nature vs. nurture question that is fun to kick around as an abstract philosophical question, but is utterly soul-destroying to contemplate if you are the mother of a psychopath.

That is what Swinton wrestles with for the entire duration of this movie.  While it is not a film for everyone, I would recommend it for anyone thinking of having children—we need at least a couple of movies each decade that show us the dark side of parenthood, don’t we?

Swinton delivers her usual can’t-take-your-eyes-off-her performance, as does Ezra Miller and the other young actors who play Kevin.  But the film belongs to director Ramsay, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rory Kinner based on the novel by Lionel Shriver.  The narrative jumps all over the place in terms of chronology, which is absolutely appropriate for a story that covers so many years in a character’s life.  Many have criticized the non-linear structure in this film as being showy or distracting, but this is the kind of story that demands that type of structure.  There is a major difference between a director jumping around in time for self-indulgent stylistic reasons, and doing so because the film is trying to convey an emotional narrative over the course of an entire lifetime (Kevin’s lifetime, in this case).

The film presents an amazing portrait of a mother doing everything she possibly can to raise her child to be a happy and well adjusted human being, but is she doing enough?  Can she ever do enough?  Does she love him enough?  Does she love him at all?  This film captures the all too true feeling of responsibility parents have for the way their children turn out.  Even if they can rationally understand that there may be other factors involved, there are always feelings of guilt and blame that no logical argument can erase.  I’ve never seen a film that has captured these feelings as directly and harshly as this film does.  Again, it’s not for everyone, but this an exceptional piece of cinema that features a stand out performance in a year full of great female film roles.