We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin has been a failure at the box office. Despite being based on Lionel Shriver’s best-selling novel of the same name, it appears fans of the book haven’t seen any reason to watch the screen version. Trumpeter of the book or not, there’s three main reasons I suspect why this is; i) The subject matter ii) Tilda Swinton (no matter what you think of her, she’s just not a box office draw) and iii) The title (it’s just not going to persuade the person passing by to rush in). So, people haven’t gone. Have they missed out though? The story concerns Eva (Swinton) and her relationship with her son, Kevin (duh), which was rocky enough anyway even before he went and massacred a load of students at his high school. Told using the flashback device, we follow Eva as she is now (post bloodshed), still trying to understand what happened and attempting to get her life back on track. Interspersed with this we cut away every now and then to follow the birth of Kevin and Eva’s strained relationship with him as he grows up. Let’s talk about the acting first. Swinton is fine as always but plays Eva as such a wet blanket it’s tough to engage with her or indeed give her much sympathy (a major problem I’ll come to in a bit). John C Reilly is only a bit part player in the background as the husband, so it’s a relief that two of the actors playing Kevin (Jasper Newell as the 6-8 year old version and Ezra Miller as the teen killer) raise the bar substantially. Miller is good, playing Kevin as dark and moody with the occasional menacing glint in his eye telling us that bad things will happen soon and what fools we’ve all been. Even better is Newell, who’s performance takes us far away from that of “Kid who is a brat” to levels of uneasiness not seen since The Omen. The big problem with the film compared to the book is that, despite Swinton’s best efforts, we never get to hear what Eva actually thinks about what is going on with Kevin. This makes it hard for the audience to understand why her (and Franklin) make the decisions they do when it appears obvious to the paying customer that their son is on a one way trip to psycho-ville. For example, Kevin’s shown daily signs of being a sociopath. I know, let’s get him a high velocity bow and arrow! Kevin probably likes to torture animals. I know, let’s get his sister a cute little pet! What’s this? Kevin’s actions have caused his sister to lose an eye? Well, we better administer a mild ticking off! Frankly, even taking into account a parents love for their child, it doesn’t ring true and pretty much undermines the whole story. Director Lynne Ramsay hasn’t had a mainstream release since 2002’s Movern Callar, but she does will enough here, shooting the film with a detached feel which nicely compliments the coldness between Eva and Kevin. She doesn’t do much more than that though, as, basically, the script doesn’t allow it. This isn’t a turkey in any way, but much more thought should have gone into if this was worth adapting for the screen in the first place.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not a bad film, but it’s tough subject matter is lost amongst the eyebrow raising antics of the protagonists. Rating: 5/10.