We Need to Talk About Kevin

Movie Name: We Need to Talk About Kevin

Year of Release: 2010

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Siobhan Fallon, Alex Manette, Ashley Gerasimovich, Jasper Newell, Rock Duer

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8

Synopsis:

British director Lynne Ramsay is back after a long hiatus that followed "Morvern Callar". "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is an adaptation of the book from Lionel Shriver and follows the story of Eva Khatchadourian and her family. Eva writes travel books/itineraries, and is married to Franklin, a man who is down to earth and lovable. Eva gets pregnant and upon the birth of the child, she tries unsuccessfully to  bond with the baby, who grows up alienated from her in every possible sense. The child's behavior is antagonizing, cruel and slowly starts eroding the well being of Eva's life. When Eva becomes pregnant with a second child, there's a temporary change in his behavior, but the anti-social behaviors quickly return. Things escalate when Kevin, aged 16, decides to go on a murder spree.
The story behind "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is indeed the nightmare of any parent - the inability to reach out to your own child, to make that child feel loved and ultimately happy. Kevin's behavior is troublesome, and Eva who tries and makes every attempt to understand her child, can't fathom the reason why that gruesome behavior comes from her own child. The film smartly moves between Eva and her life before the birth of Kevin, his years growing up and the aftermath of his actions. Tilda Swinton is simply remarkable as a woman who goes from being full of life and dynamic, to a shell of someone who is just trying to survive, someone who lost everything and has no understanding of what has occurred. Her sad eyes, her posture truly show the loss of everything and the emptiness that comes from it. It's a fantastic performance from an amazing actress who anchors this film and makes us all agonize with her. Though the songs chosen throughout the film are at points almost distracting, the soundtrack from Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood is very good. A very good film worth seeing!