A Typical Human Struggle with a Very Atypical Ending.Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson star in this film about the constant fight between temptation and duty. This film is a portrait of the never-ending human struggle to do what one knows is right while trying to resist the lure of rebellion.
This film was full of fascinating characters that added many layers to the tale. Sarah the heart broken housewife, Brad the emasculated househusband, Larry the lost and confused ex-cop, and Ronnie the unreformed pedophile just trying to please his mother. I found all the actors to be very believable and they were able to convince me of the story they were telling. Kate Winslet was brought back to her Heavenly Creature days, certainly not anything like Rose from Titanic or that character in The Holiday. I also found Jackie Earle Haley the man who played Ronnie to be really creepy in a good way. Just as we began to feel bad for this social outcast, he turned out to be just as creepy as we were hoping he wasn’t.
There are so many words I could use to describe the ending of this film, powerful, shocking, disgusting, depressing, poetically just…I was not at all expecting the violent ends to which Ronnie reacted to his mothers powerful words, I was sad that no one really got what they wanted out of life in the end, but mostly I enjoyed the hidden honorableness to the ending. While it may have been against their will, everyone ended up doing the right thing when it was all said and done. Sarah and Brian stayed with their spouses and their children, Larry got to be the hero he once was, and Ronnie did what he had to do to make sure that he would never hurt anyone again. The right thing was done, no matter how much it hurt.
The whole movie had this weird narration, which I found to be rather annoying, but it added to the “here are some characters in a book” vibe which I think the movie was going for. There were also some sex scenes that I didn’t find totally unnecessary, but I do think they took away from a potentially higher level of dignity and class that this movie could have had.
This film was full of fascinating characters that added many layers to the tale. Sarah the heart broken housewife, Brad the emasculated househusband, Larry the lost and confused ex-cop, and Ronnie the unreformed pedophile just trying to please his mother. I found all the actors to be very believable and they were able to convince me of the story they were telling. Kate Winslet was brought back to her Heavenly Creature days, certainly not anything like Rose from Titanic or that character in The Holiday. I also found Jackie Earle Haley the man who played Ronnie to be really creepy in a good way. Just as we began to feel bad for this social outcast, he turned out to be just as creepy as we were hoping he wasn’t.
There are so many words I could use to describe the ending of this film, powerful, shocking, disgusting, depressing, poetically just…I was not at all expecting the violent ends to which Ronnie reacted to his mothers powerful words, I was sad that no one really got what they wanted out of life in the end, but mostly I enjoyed the hidden honorableness to the ending. While it may have been against their will, everyone ended up doing the right thing when it was all said and done. Sarah and Brian stayed with their spouses and their children, Larry got to be the hero he once was, and Ronnie did what he had to do to make sure that he would never hurt anyone again. The right thing was done, no matter how much it hurt.
The whole movie had this weird narration, which I found to be rather annoying, but it added to the “here are some characters in a book” vibe which I think the movie was going for. There were also some sex scenes that I didn’t find totally unnecessary, but I do think they took away from a potentially higher level of dignity and class that this movie could have had.
This movie was very interesting to say the least. I prefer my movies to be slightly more upbeat, but this one was thoughtful and suspenseful enough to keep me enjoying it, and the hidden “poetic justness” of it all really made me like it even more. Little Children is certainly not for everyone, but if you’re looking for something different, then don’t hesitate to take a look at it.
Overall (out of 10): 
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