The novel We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver is a chilling depiction of the actions of a son and the effects that it has on his mother, however under the surface, the true story depicts the dark side of motherhood. A clean slate, a fresh start. She asks Kevin why he didn't kill her. It is her offspring, that does the horrible act breaking with the mundane cycle of ordinary-everydayness. [–]cranne 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (0 children). Read full review. But at the end the film he bears the physical and mental scars of his time in juvenile prison and is facing the prospect of being moved into adult prison - he is afraid but this is the closest he can come to saying he regrets his actions. That's the climax of her entire development as a character, in my opinion. Curious to hear other people's interpretations. He says back, "Just because you get used to something doesn't mean you like it. We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver A dark, witty tale of guilt and redemption. She exits the prison into a brilliant, pure, white light. It's like we were watching a completely different movie. The child is played as a teen by Ezra Miller, and his relationship with this mother, played by the Brilliant Tilda Swinton, is the central point of the plot. It really showed how she couldn't bring her self to face her debilitating relationship with her son, even though she could turn it around if she did. So how do people watch all this and then sympathize with her? I hated the ending. Both of them were under the impression that her actions as a mother eventually caused him to go on a killing rampage. Fuck you, Kevin, your sister was so cute and nice and so was your dad. I think the key to the ending of the film lies in the look that she gives her son after he answers her question at the end. Kevin’s killings, meanwhile, are the absent, invisible center of Ramsay’s film. Don't get me wrong, it was great, and I loved it. Word Count: 2350. There was one scene where the couple knew the intruders had been inside the house and the husband goes outside to investigate, leaving the wife in the house by herself. disastrous results. So it's even more torture for her to have her own son commit one. She and Kevin both share an absolute hatred of all things mundane. [–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (2 children). erm SPOILERS the way the book is written you really get into the mind of Kevin's mom, the analysis of the incidents that take place (drawing all over her room, burning little girl's eyes out) show you that Kevin is the way he is not just because of his apparent psychopathy but because she secretly resents and hates him. This review of the film was originally published on December 22, 2011. Because of that, she eventually develops some sympathy for him for the first time in her life. About the author… Lionel Shriver is a novelist whose previous books include Orange Prize– winner We Need to Talk About Kevin, The We should choose whatever helps us to live the best lives we can live. I could not get it out of my head, then I saw the DVD for sale in a local shop and had to buy it immediately. I guess it's a nature and nurture thing. Eva Katchadourian, his mother, gradually tells the story of his life in a series of letters – written in elegant, discursive prose – to her now absent husband, Franklin. I choose to believe the latter, because it obviously makes for a more interesting film and I think it fits the impressionistic style the film was going for, which I think it was very successful in doing. The way I interpreted that was that she felt Kevin finally questioned himself. ***(Minor) spoiler warning*** I loved We Need to Talk about Kevin and yes, it produces anguish, despair and sometimes just a little disbelief, given that Kevin is so disturbed you have to ask a ‘real-world’ question about a medical/psychiatric assessment of Kevin. I absolutely love this film. Swinton told me of a line in the script that wasn't used, wisely, I believe. Is he a cartoonishly evil kid or is Tilda Swinton an unreliable narrator? Thoughts on it? His reply: "You don't want to kill your audience." Lionel Shriver's 2003 best-seller, We Need To Talk About Kevin, chronicles a mother coming to terms with the heinous massacre her son committed in an upstate New York high school.Shriver won the prestigious Orange Prize in 2005, and the book was adapted to screen in 2011. Also a great use of colors, particularly in the beginning of the film. Tilda Swinton is the star of We Need to Talk About Kevin, and her performance is so complex and volcanic and transfixing that all of the film's flaws melt away. This, too, built up the kid's resentment to his family. We Need to Talk About Kevin Summary. [–]shakha 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (0 children). Heat(1995) and incompatibility with normality, Michael Haneke on violence (Benny’s Video/Funny Games), Every Kurosawa Film Reviewed - #24 Dodes'ka-den (1970), What Have You Been Watching? [–]moesif 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (4 children), [–]electric33l 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (3 children). There are a lot of characters in movies who I wish I could just swiftly kick in the teeth. The novel is presented in a series of letters by Eva Katchadourian… [–]makingbacon 4 points5 points6 points 8 years ago (7 children). Thursday 02 April 2009 23:40. comments. This film is BRILLIANT! I call shenanigans! It was sort of plodding along before that, not saying much, not really going anywhere, etc. wow, i never looked at the movie this way. © 2021 reddit inc. All rights reserved. How are the main characters of the movie “We need to talk about Kevin”? Then he finally takes the game far enough and kills people just to hurt her, while also proving her right. J.R. Jones Jan 28, 2012. There is a 180 character minimum for top-level comments. Life has ruined her chances at free fun and she hates the world. Thoughts on it. He (Kevin) doesn't develop any kind of attachment to anyone and the only kind of attachment that is shown is the one to his bow. So much detail and story. Rendered by PID 16297 on r2-app-061122a8e59027707 at 2021-02-23 12:30:30.342562+00:00 running 81a1eda country code: US. for whatever reason, it never occurred to me to consider the fact that swinton's character was the storyteller and that things might not have been as they seemed. We Need To Talk About Kevin- Opening Scene Analysis. (self.TrueFilm). Seriously, I hate the kid that played him. Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. [–][deleted] 5 points6 points7 points 8 years ago (0 children). It was one of those films where I had to read up about it afterwards, and the scene at the end with Kevin on the anniversary was so interesting. John C Riley also stars as the sensitive and goofy husband who often takes the son's side over his wife in various issues. Despite We Need to Talk About Kevin never feeling subtle, particularly in regards to its unambiguous red aesthetic, in terms of costume the overall look is perfect. His pattern changed, he showed some regret for his actions. The whole existence of his sister serves only as mom's way of saying fuck you to her son. If you read the book, it is apparent that mommy is just as much to blame for what happened as Kevin is. But I hated it. and join one of thousands of communities. [–]trigfinal 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (0 children). we need to talk about kevin ending explained ... For more than a decade /R/HORROR has been reddit.com's gateway to all things Horror: from movies & TV, to books & games. At the very least, I wanted to shake the hell out of them. Last Updated on October 26, 2018, by eNotes Editorial. Then when he is older she tries to reconcile by inviting him out to eat and manages to still be a bitch about it. REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc. π Rendered by PID 16297 on r2-app-061122a8e59027707 at 2021-02-23 12:30:30.342562+00:00 running 81a1eda country code: US. Another redditor made a comment about Mom's face when Kevin said "you never got used to me", it's just a lot more apparent in the book i felt. 70. She asks him, "Why?" you didn't explain a thing.. is there anyone who can? It is … It might not be her fault after all. The narrative structure is equal parts frustrating and rewarding and forces the viewer to take part in the film on every step. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Whereas I felt really really sorry for her and could understand where she was coming from. [–]goobysalad 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (0 children). But after a rough start it really soared. No racism, sexism, or other forms of bigotry. Most of the characters in most horror movies...especially the two girls in the original "Last House on the Left". Told through letters written by Kevin's mother Eva, to her former husband Franklin, Eva's letters are a form of therapy, and an attempt to gain an understanding of her son's innate hatred for the world. That it was sort of a level of self reflection that perhaps he previously didn't have, and may lead to his sociopathic condition improving in the future. Has anyone here seen "We Need to Talk about Kevin"? [–]SmileforDan 4 points5 points6 points 8 years ago (0 children). These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. We Need To Talk About Kevin is a searing and complex look at the reasons couples decide to have children, the parent-child relationship, marriage, and the limits of love and loyalty. I think that is exactly the point of the movie, to manipulate people's reality through her pov even when it's pretty obvious she is mental, the same way she manipulated her son's reality. He wanted a hard life. From an early age she taught him that everything is an ego game between two of them because that is how she responded to everything her son did since before he could talk. She cared about being right more than about fixing any issues, in fact she never tried fixing anything at all. I'm sure many parents resent the sacrifices they've had to make for their kids, but that doesn't make every kid a killer. He also acknowledged at a very young age that she disliked him and didn't love him, to which she would mostly agree with him. The first time I watched it with my family, and we all loved it but had different reactions to what was happening. Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 rendition of ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ is an eerie homage to the Lionel Shriver’s 2003 bestselling thriller novel. In my opinion, that's her guilt melting away. The use of the colour red, like you say, in the beginning of the film was beautiful. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) - who is the fucked up one here. The kid was difficult (maybe because he had a mom who blatantly didn't love him), but not evil, however she interpreted every act of spite directed towards her as if he were Damien. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2011 psychological thriller drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay.The screenplay, written by Ramsay and Rory Stewart Kinnear, was based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Lionel Shriver.A long process of development and financing began in 2005, with filming commencing in April 2010. We need to talk about Kevin, By Lionel Shriver, Serpent's Tail, $22.95 Well before the post-September 11 security crackdown, there were metal-detectors in American schools. We can decipher character subtly or as in all the most effective costume design, ignore it entirely. I really wanted to reach into the film, strangle the hell out of that kid. In a sadistic way, Kevin fulfils his mother's fantasies. He seemed so broken, as if he had discovered that he didn't have life all figured out like he thought he did (if that makes sense?). The story revolves around a family of four, but the main focus is on the relationship between the mother (Eva, played by Tilda Swinton) and the son (Kevin, played by Rock River, Jasper Newell and Ezra Miller).. It was plodding and cryptic in the beginning. If the movie was told in a linear timeline, everyone would think that the parents were the most clueless, unaware people ever. We Need to Talk About Kevin focuses on a school massacre orchestrated by a 15-year-old Kevin, who harbored a troubled psyche ever since he was a child. I Care A Lot: A conflicted analysis on following an antihero, or maybe I just don't get it. There are all these little ambiguities in the film, if you pay close attention, that suggest she may be building Kevin up to be more of an obvious monster than he was. [–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). I don't remember exactly what I said but I had to think about it for a while after seeing it, mostly because of Kevin. We Need to Talk About Kevin essays are academic essays for citation. In conclusion, I think this film is about revenge. She feels better. I only questioned that because I've been reading about serial killers a lot lately, and many of them seem to have that kind of relationship with their mothers early on, so that made me wonder about that. With Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell. [–][deleted] 7 points8 points9 points 8 years ago (8 children). What are/were your thoughts on it? The movie goes back and forth in time to show different points in Eva’s life. [–]EternalRocksBeneath 4 points5 points6 points 8 years ago (5 children). We Need to Talk About Kevin feels like a daring art installation, filled with the obvious color red as a metaphor. My main question is regarding the relationship between Kevin … On the other hand, many other people have kind of distant relationships with their mothers, and they don't go off on a killing spree. Threads must point discussion in a specific direction. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a very accomplished novel about a woman who gave birth to one of America's most infamous high school killers. But now, her son isn't so sure. Get an ad-free experience with special benefits, and directly support Reddit. It's not told in chronological order, as it also depicts the mother's life after the crime is done. [–]EagleSkyline 5 points6 points7 points 8 years ago (0 children). The film posits Eva’s point of view, who relays the history of her relationship with her firstborn, and … She had the intelligence and education to involve therapists to fix their issues, but she rather decided to keep playing games and try to turn his own father against him. use the following search parameters to narrow your results: /r/TrueFilm is a subreddit for in-depth discussions about film. She is so brilliant anyway, and the way she portrayed that character was really complex, which I loved. "The movie is good, but doesn't capture the experience of reading the book. If all else remains equal, we should choose what gives us purpose, hope and meaning. [–]Grytpype-Thynne 0 points1 point2 points 8 years ago (0 children). [–][deleted] 7 points8 points9 points 8 years ago (0 children). [–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 8 years ago (4 children). I, too, was haunted for days. By the way, you should check out her other two films (Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar); they're equally if not more terrific. I'm starting this topic because I recently got into a discussion about this on another sub and pretty much no one agrees with my interpretation of the movie at all, which is that mom is a psychopath. I'm sorry, but that's the only way that I can put it. It's about a kid who commits a mass school shooting, told after the … Clear, polite and well-written responses should be upvoted; opinions should not be downvoted. I hate that character so much, I hate him for playing the role. Tilda Swinton was so unfairly snubbed by the Oscars. Costume compliments the visual expression Lynne Ramsey has chosen to adopt. John C. Reilly was totally miscast. [–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points 8 years ago (0 children), Ahhh yeah, the one that comes to mind is "The Strangers". I was sweating with anticipation when this film was announced. It's such a subtle little look, but it means so much. We Need to Talk About Kevin is already playing in NYC; it opens today in LA, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix and is rolling out nationwide. However, I felt the film was still perfectly casted, and the stark cinematography was very appropriate for the subject matter, in particular I loved how Ramsay captured Kevin's triumph in the gym, the image was in my mind for a good week. I had already read the book (which, by the way, is very different from the film), and Lynne Ramsay is one of my favorite directors. (Week of (February 21, 2021). Threads must promote in-depth discussion. 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