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We Need To Talk About Kevin

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matt35mm:


Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly

Eva puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin. The relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgivable in the eyes of the entire community. Eva grapples with her own feelings of grief and responsibility. Did she ever love her son? And how much of what Kevin did was her fault? -- (C) UK Film Council

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This was a last-minute addition to Fantastic Fest, and I was thrilled to be able to go see it. I'm pretty sure that it's my favorite film of the year so far, and I can't wait to see it again.

MY FULL REVIEW

Takeaway:

"The visual and aural sophistication is unmatched–I was deeply inspired to see a filmmaker in such control of every detail. Every single shot, every scene, every link between scenes, every sound, every song choice, all so beautifully done and put together, achieving a quality nothing short of miraculous. I was nearly in tears at how beautiful this film is. Ramsay is clearly inspired by the Terrence Malick and David Lynch of yore, and in the film’s strongest moments, she surpasses these old masters, creating a whole new level of etherial cinematic beauty. A new bar has been set."

O.:
I've literally read nothing about this film and am dying to watch it. I'll keep it that way to keep from spoiling anything at all, walk in there blind. With John C. Reilly in it, and Jonny Greenwood providing the score, I'd watch it even if it was presumed to be shit.

Jeremy Blackman:
We need to talk about a better title.

Nah just kidding, it's actually a great title.

I Love a Magician:
this would've much better with fewer scenes of kevin. everything else was very strong (the editing in particular is great) but kevin was almost a caricature of a sociopath.

matt35mm:
Agreed. But the more I think about this movie (and I've been lucky enough to see it twice), the more I think of the whole thing as Eva's warped point of view, which slightly softens that criticism of how caricatured Kevin is, because it's filtered through Eva's knowledge of what Kevin has done. We never really objectively see Kevin. I've read the book, too, which is all told through Eva's letters to her husband, so it's definitely the cause that there is no material about Kevin in the book that is not filtered through Eva.

But the whole thing is just so well put together that I find it hard to criticize it. I'm just happy to swim in these waters.

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