[br][B]THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS[/B][/center]
"We have to talk about Kevin", also tentatively titled "How to raise/be born a psychopath" was a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver adapted into the 2011 film of the same name.
Our story begins and ends in the perspective of Eva Katchadourian passionate lover of travel and globe trotter, future mother of psycho child extraordinaire Kevin.
The film inter cuts scenes and dialogue of present and past Eva's. Showing her life as it was a single gal, lover, traveler, wife to be, business woman and wife. And how down right suicidally horrible her life has become.
Eva meets along her travels her husband to be Franklin, and after a night of "forgetful" passion, Eva becomes pregnant with Kevin. Eva is not the most enthusiastic mom to be I have ever seen, in fact it seems from the every start Eva is reluctant to be a mother, perhaps fearing all of the free spirited independence she is losing.
Kevin is thus born, Eva is stunned at the pain labor and delivery brings, her and Kevin get off on the wrong foot from the word go. Kevin is a crier, perhaps not more or less then any other child, but to his mother it is non-stop screaming, and to defend lil' Kev here for a moment, Eva is not a great comforter at first.
As Kevin grows from infant to toddler he show obvious signs of global delay, lack of speech, complete lack of desire for physical comfort from his mother, no potty training.
By age six Kevin is still in diapers and Eva, at maybe her lowest point and angriest, snaps in a fit of anger at Kevin for soiling himself on purpose, twice in a row. As a result Eva throw Kevin and bounces off the wall breaking his arm.
Where is Daddy, you may be asking yourself, well Daddy is blissfully unaware of Kevin behaviors and attitudes. Kevin is a affectionate boy with his father, loving and adoring as anyone could want.
"Its normal for boy's to treat their mother's like shit." Is his main counter argument. (I'm paraphrasing)
But as we watch closely and the actors show the tension we realize how deep rooted and early Kevin psychosis is. He is already manipulating by age 4 and 5.
The relationship of mother and son spirals even further downward, until we are treated with a grand surprise.
Kevin gets the flu, he needs his mother, I'm guessing that lil' Kevy's instincts kicks in here.
[i]I need my mother to survive.[/i]
For those few brief scenes, Kevin sucks in Eva and us with the tidbit of affection and attention he showers on his mother who lovingly nurses him and reads Robin Hood to him. Whether this moment is as real to Kevin as it to Eva we are never told.
However it is same ol' same ol' when Kevin stops puking. Kevin however comes out of the experience with a love for something, archery. His father buys him a toy bow and arrow set, which he promptly takes outside and spying his mother through the window shoots an arrow at her.
Eva and Franklin become pregnant again with a daughter this time, it is alluded to in the novel that Eva has the second child so she can feel some relationship with her family group.
Meanwhile in the present we are treated with all the tortures that Eva experiences, being attacked by strangers in the street, her house doused in red paint, and groceries assaulted mercilessly.
Celia is born and automatically Kevin lashes out at his 5 minute old baby sister. Eva is repeatedly rebuffed by Kevin in her efforts to become closer to him. Everyone is under some absolutely effed up assumption that Kevin is alright, normal, even healthy.
Far to the contrary Kevin merely gets worse, his desire to make his mother suffer deepens and blossoms into full grown antipathy.
Unfortunately Franklin seeing how his son loves the sport of archery, encourages him as Kevin grows and buys him real bows and arrows.
Also it seems the adults are consuming more booze as time passes.
Celia get a guinea pig, this guinea pig goes missing. A clog appears in the sink, draino is used. Then Celia loses an eye to the same draino. It is not made clear whether Celia does it to herself because the draino was left out by Eva or whether Kevin pours it in her eye while babysitting her. Franklin asks Eva for a divorce after Eva tells him she thinks that Kevin injured Celia. Kevin overhears this conversation.
We are then witness to a plan in motion. Surgically executed by a cold blooded killer.
To sum up, this movie was wonderfully acted, the inter cut scenes were extremely well done. Big props to Tilda Swanson and Ezra Miller who were amazing together and I could not take my eyes off them. Little Jasper Newell as an 8 year psycho gob smacked me, wonderful performance.
The score through me off, songs interspersed through past/present transmissions, some made me want to laugh and some cry.
Really the film as a whole was gut wrenching at times. Either I wanted smack Kevin or Eva or Franklin in most scenes. Really how would this boy slip through the cracks?
The whole nature vs. nature is a theme that stayed with me from the birth scene onward, was Kevin born this way or was he the product of his mother's detachment. (most likely some form of PPD)
We are not told and left to wonder, just like Kevin and Eva.
"We have to talk about Kevin", also tentatively titled "How to raise/be born a psychopath" was a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver adapted into the 2011 film of the same name.
Our story begins and ends in the perspective of Eva Katchadourian passionate lover of travel and globe trotter, future mother of psycho child extraordinaire Kevin.
The film inter cuts scenes and dialogue of present and past Eva's. Showing her life as it was a single gal, lover, traveler, wife to be, business woman and wife. And how down right suicidally horrible her life has become.
Eva meets along her travels her husband to be Franklin, and after a night of "forgetful" passion, Eva becomes pregnant with Kevin. Eva is not the most enthusiastic mom to be I have ever seen, in fact it seems from the every start Eva is reluctant to be a mother, perhaps fearing all of the free spirited independence she is losing.
Kevin is thus born, Eva is stunned at the pain labor and delivery brings, her and Kevin get off on the wrong foot from the word go. Kevin is a crier, perhaps not more or less then any other child, but to his mother it is non-stop screaming, and to defend lil' Kev here for a moment, Eva is not a great comforter at first.
As Kevin grows from infant to toddler he show obvious signs of global delay, lack of speech, complete lack of desire for physical comfort from his mother, no potty training.
By age six Kevin is still in diapers and Eva, at maybe her lowest point and angriest, snaps in a fit of anger at Kevin for soiling himself on purpose, twice in a row. As a result Eva throw Kevin and bounces off the wall breaking his arm.
Where is Daddy, you may be asking yourself, well Daddy is blissfully unaware of Kevin behaviors and attitudes. Kevin is a affectionate boy with his father, loving and adoring as anyone could want.
"Its normal for boy's to treat their mother's like shit." Is his main counter argument. (I'm paraphrasing)
But as we watch closely and the actors show the tension we realize how deep rooted and early Kevin psychosis is. He is already manipulating by age 4 and 5.
The relationship of mother and son spirals even further downward, until we are treated with a grand surprise.
Kevin gets the flu, he needs his mother, I'm guessing that lil' Kevy's instincts kicks in here.
[i]I need my mother to survive.[/i]
For those few brief scenes, Kevin sucks in Eva and us with the tidbit of affection and attention he showers on his mother who lovingly nurses him and reads Robin Hood to him. Whether this moment is as real to Kevin as it to Eva we are never told.
However it is same ol' same ol' when Kevin stops puking. Kevin however comes out of the experience with a love for something, archery. His father buys him a toy bow and arrow set, which he promptly takes outside and spying his mother through the window shoots an arrow at her.
Eva and Franklin become pregnant again with a daughter this time, it is alluded to in the novel that Eva has the second child so she can feel some relationship with her family group.
Meanwhile in the present we are treated with all the tortures that Eva experiences, being attacked by strangers in the street, her house doused in red paint, and groceries assaulted mercilessly.
Celia is born and automatically Kevin lashes out at his 5 minute old baby sister. Eva is repeatedly rebuffed by Kevin in her efforts to become closer to him. Everyone is under some absolutely effed up assumption that Kevin is alright, normal, even healthy.
Far to the contrary Kevin merely gets worse, his desire to make his mother suffer deepens and blossoms into full grown antipathy.
Unfortunately Franklin seeing how his son loves the sport of archery, encourages him as Kevin grows and buys him real bows and arrows.
Also it seems the adults are consuming more booze as time passes.
Celia get a guinea pig, this guinea pig goes missing. A clog appears in the sink, draino is used. Then Celia loses an eye to the same draino. It is not made clear whether Celia does it to herself because the draino was left out by Eva or whether Kevin pours it in her eye while babysitting her. Franklin asks Eva for a divorce after Eva tells him she thinks that Kevin injured Celia. Kevin overhears this conversation.
We are then witness to a plan in motion. Surgically executed by a cold blooded killer.
To sum up, this movie was wonderfully acted, the inter cut scenes were extremely well done. Big props to Tilda Swanson and Ezra Miller who were amazing together and I could not take my eyes off them. Little Jasper Newell as an 8 year psycho gob smacked me, wonderful performance.
The score through me off, songs interspersed through past/present transmissions, some made me want to laugh and some cry.
Really the film as a whole was gut wrenching at times. Either I wanted smack Kevin or Eva or Franklin in most scenes. Really how would this boy slip through the cracks?
The whole nature vs. nature is a theme that stayed with me from the birth scene onward, was Kevin born this way or was he the product of his mother's detachment. (most likely some form of PPD)
We are not told and left to wonder, just like Kevin and Eva.