Little Children

Little Children (2006), directed by Todd Field, screenplay by Field and Tom Perrotta, based on Perrotta's 2004 novel.

I really like this film. Like a Thomas Hardy tale, it's got insiders and outsiders, transgressions, consequences. And social commentary. The principle actors are superb (Jackie Earle Haley, especially, as the disturbed Ronnie), the interweaving plot engaging. But it's the underlying social commentary, alternatingly satirical and probing, that I enjoyed best. The clever use of quiet, deadpan narration frequently cracked me up on first viewing. Will Lyman, the narrator, has a memorable vocal style that I remember well from Vietnam: A Television History (1997) and Frontline (1982-2006+) --it's a perfect touch.

Set in suburban hell, the story involves, among others, a wife-mother (well done by Kate Winslet, who looks much better than she's given credit for as a character) who is "different" from the norm, restless and romantic, and her husband Richard, bored by work and addicted to Slutty Kay, a campy internet porn celebrity; another wife-mother (Jennifer Connelly, intense, driven, and smart, with a blindspot for her spouse) who is also a documentary filmmaker, and her house husband (convincingly played by Patrick Wilson, the object of desire of other wives/mothers, who call him "The Prom King"), who has deliberately failed the bar exam twice and will do so again, an overgrown passive-aggressive boy who resents his wife and life; their kids; Ronnie, released from prison for exposing himself to a minor, and his besieged mother (Phyllis Somerville), who loves him unconditionally; and a cop (Noah Emmerich) driven to retirement by an accidental mall shooting, who has taken it on himself to hound Ronnie with a vigilante-like obsession.

There's a great pool scene where Ronnie dives in, surrounded by children, causing a sudden panic among adults supervising them. By the end, the husbands seem almost as socially stunted as Ronnie, if only to their wives, who both develop in understanding and acceptance. Ronnie and Larry the cop have their own moment. All well done.

For those worried about the title's implications, no little children are harmed in the film. This is not a modern version of Fritz Lang's masterpiece M (1931). The title for this one reinforces the obvious fact that adults can emotionally act as much like little children as actual children.

Today's Rune: Warrior.

Ciao!