Written by: Tom Perrotta(Novel)
Directed by: Todd Fields
Genre: Drama/Romance/Crime/Mystery
Rated: R
Running time: 137 mins
Theatrical Release: November 3, 2006
Distributor: New Line Cinema Films
Staring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly,
Jackie Earle Haley
Little Children is an interesting movie with many odd twists, and turns. It’s a movie that reflects our inner prejudices of people, and how we as a society judge ourselves. Little Children is also a movie with an interesting focus on adultery, sex, and crime. When I saw this movie in November I didn’t have any high expectations of it. My Colleague who is also a teacher thought it was a movie about little children, she hadn’t read any reviews about this movie before going to see it however, after watching this movie we both enjoyed it very much despite its very odd soap opera presentation.
Little Children delivers a good ensemble of cast members such as Kate Winslet who portrays a highly educated stay at home mom holding a PhD in English Literature. Patrick Wilson brings on a heated performance as a three-time bar examines failure and hopeful attorney. And Jackie Earle Haley also provides a chilling and superb performance as a newly released convict and sex offender. Little Children is a celebrated adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s novel Little Children. Todd Field(The Bedroom) wonderfully directs this movie with excellent cinematography, and superb direction. Todd’s excellent direction makes this story very plausible; he wonderfully depicts a vivid portrait of people’s lives that intercross.
In this movie, Kate Winslet portrays Sarah, a highly educated, unhappy married woman, and stay at home mom whose detachment from her daughter is very noticeable, she’s married to a business man(Gregg Edelman) whose internet porn obsession and masturbation becomes tiresome to their marriage. Her only outlet are daily visits to the neighborhood park, a place where she meets other married stay at home moms and their children who constantly attack her life style in this upscale suburbia East Wyndam Massachusetts community. Love and adultery finds its way to Sarah’s heart when she meets Brad. Brad is portrayed by Patrick Wilson, a handsome stay at home dad known to many as the Prom King because of his good looks. Brad is married to a successful domineering and beautiful filmmaker who dishes out his allowances and runs their household financially portrayed by Jennifer Connelly a situation that makes Brad fill like an emasculated husband. When Brad and Sarah hug and kiss this romantic gesture becomes a kick off to their adulteress affair; they plan to leave their spouses, and ran away together.
Meanwhile posters have been posted in the community of a newly released convict and sex offender Ronnie Mcgorvey who has moved in the neighborhood portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley. His visits to the neighborhood swimming pool where parents and their children go for a swim spark lots of panic, attention and fear when the parents began pulling their children out of the pool, and the police is called to remove Ronnie, the sex offender from the pool. Ronnie on the other hand is merely a mama’s boy who decided to take a swim in the community swimming pool. His mother persuades him to start dating women an adventure that turns disastrous for Ronnie. Ronnie is constantly harassed by his neighbors and Brad’s friend a retired policeman(Noah Emmerich) who has launched a citizen’s panic group with flyers, posters, and rants of woes over a bull horn at all hours of the night, exposing Ronnie’s sex crimes against children. Eventually his mother, who can’t cope with the harassment anymore dies. Later, Ronnie now depressed at his mother’s death, and wants to appease his community is thrust into a horrible act that will both shock, and sadden you. What happens to Sarah and Brad? Will they run away together? What happens to Ronnie? Will he survive in his community? You’ll find out when you see this movie.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned earlier, Little Children is a very good movie with an odd twist. It’s an imploding movie that grabs the viewer’s attention to the social issues I’ve mentioned above sex, adultery, and crime. Todd Field directs this intensified film with a good ensemble of cast members, which makes this story of metaphors plausible. The performance Jackie Earle Haley is well done he wonderfully portrays a frighteningly harsh and sensitive role as a sex offender who becomes a sympathetic out cast in a community that drives him to do the unthinkable. Kate Winset and Patrick Wilson provides a steamy, and edge of your seat performance as two married people caught in a triangle of time that doesn’t suit them.
Overall Little Children is a good movie that’s well deserving of its Oscar nominations. Check out Little Children you’ll find this to be a very interesting movie.