Saturday 22 October 2011

We Really Do Need To Talk About Kevin

I haven't read the book, I know I should, but after seeing the film I don't think I want to. I'm one of those people who either reads the book before the film or not at all. Sounds bad but if I read the book after I will be forever comparing it to the film and can't see the characters as anything other than those who played them in the film and I need to imagine. But I am forever saying there is one exception, Little Children by Tom Perrotta, loved the film, loved the book.



I have been looking forward to seeing this film because of all the buzz that was around it at Cannes and also, it has a female director, Lynne Ramsay. I got to the cinema a tad early and waited a few moments then, as the cue got longer for the ticket booth, I started to panic. I don't why I panic for such things but I do. Then I saw a notice on the door saying they had sold out of the showing I was meant to see with my friends. I panicked and tried calling then. No answer, still on the tube. Then Dominic Cooper, British actor, walked into the cinema, walked out again. He was also on the phone. Then for a good 5-10 minutes it was just the two of us making frantic phone calls and looking up and down the street. It was quite amusing. Then I decided to go in and buy the tickets but it was also Dominic Cooper had decided to do the same thing. So of course I couldn't follow him in, it would have looked like I was following him. Anyway we got to see the film on time, sat in the font row and enjoyed a harrowing film, just as the poster and adverts had promised.

The film is about Eva (Tilda Swinton, who was amazing) the mother of a teenage boy, Kevin (Ezra Miller) who went on a high-school killing spree tries to deal with her grief and feelings of responsibility for her child's actions. The film is told in flashbacks mixed with the present day. It is a very good film and I know I keep saying that when I talk about films but it is true these films are very good. This film is of course different from the rest. It wasn't depressing for a start and it had me on the edge of my seat in the way I didn't know what Kevin was going to do next. I thought it was great casting especially all the Kevins, they all looked like they were same child and they did all look like they could be Tilda Swinton's. Casting aside, after seeing it my mum asked me (she read the book) how did Eva come across? For me, I felt sorry for her then I started to not understand her, why did she visit Kevin in prison after what he did, especially after the awful reveal near the end. From start to finish I felt sorry for her, being punished by her own child who she only tried to connect with. Go see it, its out now and see what you think.