Indeed, we need to talk about it! A film presenting a story of atrocity in a brilliant manner, with excellent actors and amazing performances. Lynne Rramsay knows how to keep the spectator in suspense as the memories of the main characters are mixed with what is happening in present. The striking contrast in the character’s outlook as well as its whole social surrounding spawns numerous questions awaiting an answer as the film unfolds.
However, what is more striking is the lack of script, i.e. a solid story explaining why some things happened in the movie. In order to justify this position, one must go into details (click on the more button after the rating), which you might want to read after you decide whether you want to see the film or not.
My rating: 05/10
We see a teenager raised from a baby by a mother. At the age of three, there are already signs of disorder. There are clear notions that the little boy is challenging and fighting with its mother in an intelligent and provocative manner. Yet, although she sees that, she does not do much to address the issue, although the incidents become more severe as the boy grows.
What the teenager does at the end is not the action of a ‘spoiled’ brat. It is the work of a severely disturbed person. So, the following questions arise: other people in its neighborhood, school and finally his own mother, would not have seen indications for such a situation? It seems highly unlikely.
Furthermore, there is no clue of what made that baby grow to that teenager: was it the attitude of its mother, its father, of both parents? Was it a pathological mental situation independent of the parent’s doing? Yes, saying to a kid that “if mommy did not have Kevin, she would be in France now” is cruel rejection, but other things happened before that led the kid to oppose its mother to that extent. The spectator is left with some clues but not too much light on what really happened. This could be a really strong point of the film. A point that is missing.
So, what is the goal of this film? To show the ruined life of a mother? To show that one may raise a killer without having a clue about it? For me, it is unclear…
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