We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

Shrouded in anticipation, and laden with expectations, director Lynne Ramsay’s film adaptation of the popular novel “We Need To Talk About Kevin”, is one of the most exciting cinematic releases of 2011. The film has been nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and is set to be a popular choice amongst next year’s award shows.
Starring the resplendently talented Tilda Swinton as the story’s central character Eva, the film also boasts an impressive supporting cast: including John C. Reilly as Eva’s husband Franklin, and the promising Ezra Miller as the abominable son Kevin. Adapted from Lionel Shriver’s bestselling novel, it was obvious from the start that Ramsay and her crew would have a tough challenge ahead of them, delivering a film that would inevitably face harsh critical scrutiny, and audiences seem nervously eager to see if they rose to the occasion.
The story of “We Need To Talk About Kevin” is a non-linear thriller, presented as an account from Eva about her experiences raising her murderously troublesome son Kevin. It is set after a high school tragedy, in which Kevin kills several of his peers with a bow and arrow, as well as his father Franklin and sister Lucy. We can ascertain from Eva’s story that she and Kevin never developed a close maternal bond, in fact, their relationship seems more of a battle for dominance. On most occasions Kevin completely defies the wishes of his mother, even from a young age, choosing to upset and terrorize her, whilst pretending to his father Franklin that he is a happy and obedient child.
As Eva struggles with her agonized emotions over the reality of her motherhood, her relationship with Franklin also deteriorates. Blindly fantasising that he has the perfect family, Franklin cannot accept that his son is a disturbed and violent child, instead accusing Eva of blaming her troubles on their innocent son.
Throughout the film, Kevin’s actions become increasingly extreme. At first his persecution of his mother is relatively insipid, such as refusing to roll a ball back to her, or squirting paint over her prized maps of the world. However, as Kevin grows older, and progressively more volatile towards the world, his behaviour towards his mother becomes even more intense and hate filled.
Lynne Ramsay has captured the extraordinarily terrifying atmosphere of this story incredibly. Her depiction of Kevin as this malevolent, monster child is done through a wonderful mix of scary close-ups of Miller’s unresponsive face, with achingly long sequences of Eva’s despair. Rather than try to glorify and understand Kevin’s unnatural hatred, it is left as an unexplored force that permeates the whole movie.
Swinton’s performance is breathtakingly painful to watch, and beautiful at the same time. Her anguish, internal and external, is possibly the most compelling aspect of the film. And Ezra Miller is truly magnificent, he plays Kevin in a darkly graceful way, that is gripping throughout.
In terms of the directorial choices, the film displays some brilliant moments using sound and colour. Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood provides the original music for the movie, which, at times, is both disturbing and moving. Sound is used to bludgeon the audience, at one point combining the endless crying of Kevin as a baby, with the harsh tones of a pneumatic drill. Although, it was the use of retro pop songs that provided the more disturbing moments in the film, such as “Everyday” by Buddy Holly, a pure, melodious pop track that seemed to magnify the cruel nature of Kevin.
Ramsay uses colour to great affect too, utilizing splashes of red throughout the film: such as the paint in Kevin’s squirt gun that he uses to ruin Eva’s maps, or the red paint bomb that has been thrown against their house after the high school shooting. Its affect on the audience is to evoke feelings of hatred and alarm at Kevin’s character, and to illustrate the constant fight going on between him and Eva.
The themes of the story are very poignant, exploring the usually natural bond between a mother and son in a very unnatural way. Instead of blaming Kevin or Eva explicitly, the audience is left to determine why this relationship has developed so terribly. Questions are raised about Eva’s response to becoming a mother, as well as the arguments for nature vs. nurture. Furthermore, the film asks what the limits of blood and love are, how far one would go to stand by your kin, something else that is related to the use of red colour.
Far removed from the typical releases that have bombarded our screens this year, “We Need To Talk About Kevin” is an intelligent film that is entertainingly difficult to watch. It is gripping in terms of performance, all three of the leading players providing amazing portrayals of these complex characters, the script is reluctant to add any unnecessary bulk, and the overall effect of Ramsay’s direction is brilliantly dark, moving, and captivating.