Little Children

[for petes sake]

It's a romantic comedy?

Evidently the 3 academy award noms weren't enough for it to be marketed as serious.

[MacGuffin]

The film started out strong, but it started to fall apart in the last twenty minutes and the ending felt pretty worthless.

Really? Because I felt that the ending was the point when all of these "children" grew up and accepted their 'adult' responsiblities.


I thought it was brilliant. A well-crafted film; from the script to the compositions in the cinematography to the use of sound (the creaky swing was haunting). I was kinda put off at the start by the voice-over, but it somehow felt right. I think its placement over the matching images made its purpose felt.

[The Red Vine]

I had been eager to see "Little Children" since I saw Todd Field's previous film "In the Bedroom" (one of my favorite films this decade).

In "Little Children" you can feel his empathy for his characters. None of them are too broad, exagerrated or unbelievable. Many people still praise "American Beauty", but I felt that film (dealing with similar themes) was too empty and unfocused. But "Little Children", however, fully explorers it's themes in an insightful manner.

Jackie Earle Haley gave the strongest performance but he also had the most complex role. The character of Ronnie is so conflicted and yet sometimes sympathetic.

I really sense a strong Bergman influence in Field's work. It's refreshing to see that as oppose to a standard Tarantino knock-off.

[for petes sake]

I really sense a strong Bergman influence in Field's work.

I especially agree with this.  Field generates tremendous energy with his frame by knowing when to hold a shot and when to cut away.   I like that you can sense his intention with the editing...it feels like he is trying to say something with every cut.