We Need To Talk About Kevin

Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, & Ezra Miller

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Americans are fascinated with criminals, and most films about them either focus on the criminal or on the people who are trying to catch them. With the recent uptake in school shootings, the one element that is often overlooked is the parents and what, if any, their role is in all of this. That is the focus of award winning film, We Need To Talk About Kevin. Kevin (Ezra Miller) has always been an angry, troubled kid, brought up by an upper middle class family. Kevin had a loving family, everything he could ever want, but still orchestrated a horrific mass shooting at his school. Despite all evidence to the contrary, his mother (Tilda Swinton) can't help but think that somehow everything is her fault, and by and large the community agrees. This is far and away one of the strongest performances I've ever seen Tilda Swinton give, and that's saying a lot, because she has always been terrific. Watching this was almost difficult, as one could actually feel her pain and see in her eyes the emotional toll everything had taken on her. She did nothing wrong, but everyone from the press to the owner of the local grocery store, blames her for the actions of her son. The film flashes between before, during, and after the event to show the differences in the lives and personalities of the characters, in a way that I've never seen before, it was really ingenious. This film delves deeper into the heart of darkness and into the eyes of the unseen victims in one of the most powerful films I've seen in years. We Need To Talk About Kevin may even be too emotionally overwhelming for some, but by in large it is one of the hardest hitting and most realistic dramas you may ever find.