BBC Films, UK Film Council, Footprint Investment Fund,
Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon, Alex Manette, Joseph Melendez
Kevin (Ezra Miller) has been a troubled child since he was a tiny baby. Worried that something was wrong, his Mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton) took him to specialists to see if he had a learning disability, but they found nothing. Kevin had a really mean streak that ran a mile wide. But mostly he took his rage out on his Mother and his little sister. Kevin suddenly turned into the model perfect child when Dad, Franklin (John C Reilly) was around, which wasn’t that often. So everyone looked at Eva as the problem. But as Kevin’s behavior became much more violent, Eva has to look closely to see how much she might be to blame for what happens.
This is a strange film. The whole thing is very done in a manner where we feel like we’re staring through a window into this very disturbed household. We get to see into Eva’s mind as she tries to deal with how to love this evil child. Then she has to deal with the abuse and disgust from the outside, the neighbors, her friends, but most of all her husbands attitude toward her. It seems there’s nothing that Eva can do to fix her unsolvable problems. It’s a very shocking and harsh story that doesn’t try to cover up the ugly life we’re watching. It pulls no punches, and as such is rather tough to stomach at times. It’s not for everyone. But if you have the nerve to sit through this, it’s certainly a story that will touch you and change your feelings forever. When terrible things happen, we always ask ourselves, “WHY?, WHY?, WHY?” Well that is probably not the right question as there often is no sense to these things. But perhaps this film will show you once and for all “HOW” it happens.
There was an old story about how to cook a frog. Being cold blooded, throwing a frog into a pot of boiling water was of no use as he would jump out immediately. But put a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat it degree by degree, and before you know it the frog is cooked without even realizing it. Probably not an accurate story, but the meaning is still valid. “How could the family let this happen?”
So if you have an interest in this really uncomfortable film, it may be something you will never forget. But remember that it is very harsh, and will definitely be uncomfortable from start to end.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
