Little Children

'It’s like the good guy kicked you in the pants'

When I sat down to watch Todd Field’s Little Children (based on the popular novel by Tom Perrotta), I noticed a good deal of older couples and a spattering of enticed faces waiting to see their favorite book and the Golden Globe nominee unveiled. I, however, was there for one reason, the director’s use of a train whistle. The trailer keyed me onto Field’s ability to create amazing amounts of tension through the prolonged use of this sound effect and these unexpected crowds made me wonder if I was in the wrong theatre (even though only one theatre would dare show something this independent). Within the first ten minutes of the film I understood that this movie would please both crowds. Not only did the beautiful photography stick out but also there was a group of gossipy mothers being mocked by a wonderfully smarmy Kate Winslett. The couples in the audience seemed comfortable, intrigued and ready for an all out tragic satire on the nice suburban neighborhood.

Truth be told, the performances really brought all the hard work of the design crew into fruition. The acting was so fitting and believable from Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly that everything became that much more satirical and shocking. Wilson played the whipped, stay at home dad, Brad who is married to the protective career woman, Kathy Adamson (played by Connelly). Wilson’s natural good charm and good looks made his gradual fall into infidelity with Winslet’s Sarah Pierce seem like a frighteningly normal process. Each character goes through a phase of restlessness and desperation, curiosity and overwhelming passion that drives the movie from satire to poignant action. Jackie Earle Haley plays the released sex offender Ronnie J. McGorvey and offers a wonderful sense of ambiguity to his character’s rehabilitation. The only one who is left behind is Richard Pierce (played by Gregg Edelman) but the cut of his screen time was forgivable. Winslet takes hold of a very complicated and passionate character with awe-inspiring ease and beauty. I watched as her character gained ounce after ounce of maddening, conflicting emotions and then saw them drained from at a moments notice.

The society of a “perfect” middle class neighborhood is unraveled better through Little Children’s concepts in a way that touched me more than American Beauty. There are narrations and satire that start out as distracting but give the needed pacing and break from watching the intensity of the childlike adults. The cinematography and lighting ROCKED: enticing warm glows and intriguing angles were used in the pool scenes that were rife with impure thoughts. The close up of the porcelain children add a very eerie meaning to the story. Even the glory moment for Brad at a night football game is hilarious thanks to the lighting and inspirational background music. And towering over all the sound effects, the screams of the train envelope the movie in a sense of tension, passion and painful silence that said “here comes the train wreck” and when it came the crowd only sat, shocked and awed at what they were feeling.

Conclusion:
Todd Fields made an amazing blend of artistic imagery and juicy satire of the typical parents. In the end Little Children gives the audience a ride through middle class suburbia that has laughter, sexual tension and though provoking dialogue but ends in a crash of meaning. The young adults who create such gossip and remorse for their less than perfect life are acting worse than innocent children in their care. Grow up and live for the actual children. 4.75 out of 5

Castlemyking