“Little Children” is an infectiously dark slice of suburban ennui in which two n’er do well thirtysomethings engage in illicit trysts while their spouses are off at work to support their upper middle-class lifestyle. On the surface, Todd Field’s stirring adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s best-selling novel is nothing more than a glorified Lifetime movie with the sleazy characters to match, but upon further review, it’s actually much more than that. Although these people are making one naïve, ill-advised decision after another, their craving for a more passionate and meaningful existence is something that many people can relate to.
The delicate, richly textured performance of Kate Winslet is a superb piece of intrepid acting and the main reason this film maintains any level of distinguished realism. Her take on Sarah, the soft-spoken intellectual turned Emma Bovary wannabe, is among the finest of her career and a golden opportunity to tackle a role that isn’t exactly prim and proper. Each scene is played out so that her insatiable hunger for contact is augmented with every harmless social interaction, so when her affair begins to materialize, we see her inner child unleashed. How a striking beauty such as Winslet can be mistaken for a plain suburbanite is a little strange, but she’s convincing nonetheless.
As for the rest of the cast, Jackie Earle Haley (Yes, that is Kelly Leak) and Noah Emmerich are really the only ones creating anything worthy of discussion. Haley delivers the best work of his career as convicted pedophile Ronnie James McGorvey and is almost hauntingly unwatchable at times due to the objectionable nature of his character. Emmerich plays a burned out police officer on a personal campaign to rid the world of sex offenders, so when Ronnie moves into the neighborhood, he organizes a committee to strike fear into parents throughout the community.
The way their characters cross paths at the end is over-the-top to say the least, but I guess Field and Perrotta really wanted to hammer their message home.
While this film is far from perfect, the quality of the writing and performances is enough to transcend the routine silliness that often accompanies works of this genre. Field is a proven filmmaker who knows the ins and outs of suburbia with sardonic precision, so even though some scenes are terribly misplaced, his finished product isn’t half bad.
- *** out of 4 (I know it’s an ‘06 release, but I didn’t have the chance to review it until now)
“Ratatouille” sure doesn’t sound as if it would be among the most entertaining films of 2007, but Brad Bird’s refreshingly vibrant script brings Pixar back to the forefront in terms of zest and originality. The tale of a rat with an exceptional aptitude for culinary maneuvering isn’t the most publicly appealing storyline, so I applaud the production team for constructing a beautifully animated film with enough laughs and exciting moments to satisfy even the most cynical viewer.
Originally, I shrugged this film off in favor of more intellectual fare, but I finally caved in and found it quite clever in its dialogue and characterization. I’ll still take “No Country For Old Men” over this any day of the week, but for those ninety-six minutes, I was pleasantly surprised.
- *** ½ out of 4
The first ten minutes of Paul Thomas Anderson’s ardently naturalistic oil saga “There Will Be Blood” contain absolutely zero dialogue. Instead, we are treated to some fascinating shots of megalomaniacal oilman Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) hacking away at a silver mine with little pleasure or success. He is motivated by greed to a certain extent, but his real driving force is one of eternal hatred for all human beings regardless of any personal connection he has with them. Not even his own crew members are free from the poisonous disposition he maintains, so when their big pay day finally arrives, Daniel is determined to emerge with the most extravagant piece of the pie.
What unfolds throughout the next two and a half hours of this modern American classic is some of the most awesome and expansive filmmaking I’ve experienced in a long time. Day-Lewis is a vigorous force of nature and as his character descends even further into psychosomatic iniquity, he seizes the opportunity to fully embody this spiritually frozen individual and challenge Anton Chigurh (“No Country For Old Men”) for the title of evil incarnate. Sure, people will accuse him of chewing the scenery during the final act, but this is simply a performance for the ages.
Paul Dano also puts forth an admirable effort as pseudo-prophet Eli Sunday, but outside of Day-Lewis’s character, this is really Anderson’s crowning achievement. He takes a huge risk with Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil! and ends up with a groundbreaking early twentieth century game of monopoly in which one man’s diabolical lust for supremacy leaves him utterly companionless.
With “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” “Punch Drunk Love,” and now Blood, I feel confident in referring to him as one of the great American writer-directors currently behind the camera. After brooding over the overall impact this film had on me, here’s hoping he never closes the lens.
- **** out of 4
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