We Need To Talk About Kevin

[Z...]

I just stumbled across this movie on TV and was really impressed. BBC and UK film council production delivered another great movie.

Astounding performance by Tilda Swinton playing a mother who struggles to love her psychopath son. She is trying to survive after the tragic event and through the series of flash backs poignant story unravels. Apart from very good story I liked the visuals, especially the use of red color to connect different pieces of the story.

The trailer here, but after short T- mobile advert

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/

 

[shijing]

I saw this a couple months ago, and agree with your recommendation HE -- it's a very dark movie (it was quite uncomfortable to watch), but I thought it was a pretty accurate (if extreme) portrayal of genetic psychopathy and the effects that it can have on a family and community.

 

[paralleloscope]

I felt really uncomfortable watching and it took me hours to shake off irritation towards it. Some of it for sure due to the kid and mothers impossible relationship and his constant manipulations. Personally I didn't feel the movies extreme and haunting flashback narrative provided a 'positive' shock. It felt like a movie from an exploit genre of quirky-hollow-lingering artsyness where the viewer has to be drawn around like a mop to the slow beat of the directors sadistic aesthetic, sort of like modern art. But then again that's what psychopathy does and in a way it portrayed the point of childhood psychopathy more real (at least more contemporary) than 'Bad seed' did.

Edit: on second thought, When I wrote above and watched the movie there was an overflow of pesonal anger not really of the directors making. So in a more mellow state I'd probably not say that the director had a sadistic aesthetic, I'm just generally impatient with drawn out movies droning on emotional despondency. Actually that might be part of a mirrored aspect I'm railing about.

 

[Z...]

I felt really uncomfortable watching and it took me hours to shake off irritation towards it. Some of it for sure due to the kid and mothers impossible relationship and his constant manipulations. Personally I didn't feel the movies extreme and haunting flashback narrative provided a 'positive' shock. It felt like a movie from an exploit genre of quirky-hollow-lingering artsyness where the viewer has to be drawn around like a mop to the slow beat of the directors sadistic aesthetic, sort of like modern art. But then again that's what psychopathy does and in a way it portrayed the point of childhood psychopathy more real (at least more contemporary) than 'Bad seed' did.

Edit: on second thought, When I wrote above and watched the movie there was an overflow of pesonal anger not really of the directors making. So in a more mellow state I'd probably not say that the director had a sadistic aesthetic, I'm just generally impatient with drawn out movies droning on emotional despondency. Actually that might be part of a mirrored aspect I'm railing about.

The director is a women and you can feel feminine sensitivity throughout the film, I think her esthetic was perfect instrument in inducing the viewer to the horrors of spawning psychopathic offspring.

 

[Z...]

On the other end of this spectrum there is another great movie with Michelle Pfiefer called "White Oleander" about the child growing with toxic narcissist or perhaps borderline psychopath parent.

 

[melatonin]

I really disliked this film, saw it a while ago now.
I must say that i found the mother to be emotionless and cold aswell. In fact all the characters were. Yeah the kid was a monster, but the whole cast had a weird feel about them.

 

[Cosmos]

I watched it and the end kind of portays "a psychopath suddenly becoming conscientiously or empathic" OSIT.

 

[echo]

I watched it and the end kind of portays "a psychopath suddenly becoming conscientiously or empathic" OSIT.

I agree that the ending was confusing in this respect. Knowing that psychopaths have no remorse I thought this was a weird twist and it didn't fit in with the rest of the movie or give an accurate portrayal. The mother being cold and distant gave the message that "psychopaths have lonely and depressed mothers, or something wrong with the family". I think what left me feeling most disturbed was the focus on the family and the fact that they were a little weird, not "normal". As if they were to blame (like they should have known, they should have done something). That way of looking at it only adds to peoples guilt. It's good to see a film being made about psychopaths but this one is too vague and misleading, osit.

On the other end of this spectrum there is another great movie with Michelle Pfiefer called "White Oleander" about the child growing with toxic narcissist or perhaps borderline psychopath parent.

"White Oleander", on the other hand, was a great film!

 

[Cyre2067]

I got the impression that the mother developed a cold, numb exterior in response to having a psychopath for a child. Like having Kevin basically destroyed her slowly over time, we're shown this woman who's barely functioning, and throughout the movie we begin to understand how she got that way.

All in all I thought the film was excellent and really captured the essence of what it must be like to be a parent to a psychopathic child.

 

[Cosmos]

I watched it and the end kind of portays "a psychopath suddenly becoming conscientiously or empathic" OSIT.

I agree that the ending was confusing in this respect. Knowing that psychopaths have no remorse I thought this was a weird twist and it didn't fit in with the rest of the movie or give an accurate portrayal. The mother being cold and distant gave the message that "psychopaths have lonely and depressed mothers, or something wrong with the family". I think what left me feeling most disturbed was the focus on the family and the fact that they were a little weird, not "normal". As if they were to blame (like they should have known, they should have done something). That way of looking at it only adds to peoples guilt. It's good to see a film being made about psychopaths but this one is too vague and misleading, osit.

I second that

 

[paralleloscope]

The director is a women and you can feel feminine sensitivity throughout the film, I think her esthetic was perfect instrument in inducing the viewer to the horrors of spawning psychopathic offspring.

I'm not sure what feminine sensitivity your thinking of, is it the attention to the emotional friction? I wouldn't attribute the bleak, dark and empty feel to anything femininly positive.

I agree that the aesthetic is good for inducing one to a state of sensing a vacuous horror that a psychopathic relationship could bring, if that provides for a useful shock or one of these negative 'information consumptions'* that the C's warn against, I'm not sure but am leaning towards the latter.

Judging from interviews it doesn't figure that the concept of psychopathy has been clearly defined in the process of making the movie. It seems the Lynne Ramsay (director) wanted to play with the idea that the viewer comes away with a question of Kevins condition was caused by the mothers character. Ezra Miller (Kevin) says about his character 'He's just one of those kids that needs a lot of loving attention'.

*** spoiler

The closing scene is usually an important impression in a movie and the way it showed mom and kid finally becoming emotive together is quite misleading; Controlfreak mom finally grows into emotional dedication to the kid and psychopath kid becoming conscientous after having questioned his actions in jail. Their emotional relationship can finally blossom in some sense.

*

A: We have more in mind. Take care with interacting with negative energies.

Q: (L) Well that’s kinda like creating your own reality, isn’t it?

A: Not what we mean… Keep your guard up and do not allow negative energies to slip by… such as believing lies… listening to negative music while thinking it is positive…watching negative movies and thinking it is negligible. It is extremely important to not lie to the self. One can listen or watch many things as long as the truth of the orientation is known, acknowledged, and understood. Clear?

short interview bits of cast/director
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=VwNHhvpo80Y

 

[Z...]

I wouldn't attribute the bleak, dark and empty feel to anything femininly positive.

feminine energy doesn't necessarily mean positive. I was talking more about sensitivity and ability to convey the feelings of such horror.

The closing scene is usually an important impression in a movie and the way it showed mom and kid finally becoming emotive together is quite misleading; Controlfreak mom finally grows into emotional dedication to the kid and psychopath kid becoming conscientous after having questioned his actions in jail. Their emotional relationship can finally blossom in some sense.

I didn't get the impression she was control freak, quite contrary if she was he wouldn't have gotten away with so many things he did. I think she was in the worst possible space - torn between motherly instincts and hate towards evil in this boy. He was manipulating her feeling all the way even till the very end, I think the final message was no matter how badly psychopaths scorn us they can still reel us in as long as the emotional hooks are still there.

I didn't quite get it whilst watching the movie. What happened with his sister eye, he left the acid there or he did it to her?

 

[paralleloscope]

I didn't get the impression she was control freak, quite contrary if she was he wouldn't have gotten away with so many things he did.

That was Tilda Swinton's word on the premise for her character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv1hGY2A7xM

I think the final message was no matter how badly psychopaths scorn us they can still reel us in as long as the emotional hooks are still there.

In the final embrace Kevin's face is shown troubled, emotive and leaning into his mother for the first time after he just delivered his seemingly first non sarcastic line about how now he wasn't so sure about why he did what he did. Of course this could be said to be feeling sorry for himself due for being beaten up in prison. But I think that reading a global message perception of 'He's a clean cut psychopath' from it might hold an element of critical correction, when the creators don't seemed invested in that particular concept but are more interested in playing with emotional friction.

I didn't quite get it whilst watching the movie. What happened with his sister eye, he left the acid there or he did it to her?

Oh, I thought it was arrow practice gone wrong.

 

[Gary]

I watched this a couple of months ago, and as a parent I felt extremely uncomfortable watching it, but I was so glad I did. It was stomach churning and heart-wrenching, watching the Mother (Tilda Swinton gave an excellent performance) slowly come to terms she has a psychopathic child, Kevin.

Was the Mother with her controlling influences, partly responsible for her sons condition or was he one of the 1% (probably more) of psychopaths? I don't know.

In many ways the biggest lesson for me, was even in the end with Mom chilling out abit and Kevin apparently displaying some empathy - I still couldn't make an accurate appraisal.

Thats a scary thought when there are at least 7,000,000 psychopaths on the planet!!! :O

 

[TOTEM36]

best part of this movie for me is when Kevin says "There is no point. That's the point."