New Orleans Film Festival: Little Children
Review by Fritz Esker
Writer/director Todd Field (the Oscar-nominated In the Bedroom) acted in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut (Field played the piano player). The directorial style of Kubrick is clearly evident in Little Children, which plays like a Kubrickian version of American Beauty. The film does not always work, but it is still a strong, compelling effort from a director who has a clear vision and seems to always be in complete control of his film, even when he missteps.
Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta (Election), Little Children tells the story of a Massachussetts suburb. Sarah (Kate Winslet), a feminist intellectual with a Master's in literature, finds herself suffocated by an unahppy marriage and a small child she feels little connection to. One day, she initiates a playground conversation with Brad (Patrick Wilson), a handsome stay-at-home dad who repeatedly tries and fails to pass the bar exam. Brad is married to a documentary filmmaker (Jennifer Connelly), but feels an undeniable connection to Sarah, and it seems inevitable that the two will seek solace in each other's arms.
The film also follows the story of Ronnie (Jackie Earle Haley - he played Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears and had mostly disappeared until All the King's Men), a recently released sexual deviant. Denizens of the neighborhood look to run off Ronnie and his beleagured mother (Phyllis Somerville). Leading the charge to ostracize Ronnie is Larry (Noah Emmerich), an embittered ex-cop.
Field's script does a good job of painting its characters in shades of gray. Sarah, the film's heroine, is intelligent and often sympathetic, but the fact remains that her ennui often makes her an indifferent mother to a child that adores her. The typically excellent Winslet stands a good chance of garnering another Best Actress nomination for her work here.
The real revelation is the character of Ronnie, who Field makes us feel sympathy for (because the townspeople are so cruel in dealing with him) while simultaneously acknowledging that he is a genuinely creepy guy. No sequence better establishes the two sides to Ronnie's personality than one where Ronnie goes on a disastrous blind date. While Winslet is terrific, Haley does her one better, making Ronnie simultaneously affecting and revolting and I would be very surprised Haley does not get a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Even in smaller roles, Field allows for complexity. The role of Larry, the ex-cop, could have easily been played as a one-note bully, but Field and Emmerich gives us the portrayal of a man who, despite his horrible mistakes, still desperately wants to do some good for his community.
Like Kubrick, Field strives to create a feeling of cold, clinical detachment, which is largely appropriate given the emotional numbness and isolation many of the characters feel. This detachment is heightened by an omniscient narrator. The narrator device only works about half of the time, though. At times, it helps to heighten the detached mood and provides wry commentary on the action. It is at its best when narrating a rec-league football game involving Brad and Larry. At its worst, it resembles numerous other bad voice-over narrations, spoon feeding the audience emotional info that the actors should be allowed to convey themselves.
Minor quibbles aside, Little Children is the thoughtful work of a talented, exciting filmmaker. Considering his rookie effort, In the Bedroom, was so acclaimed, it would have been easy to fall into a sophomore slump. However, Field sidesteps a sophomore slump and puts his name on a short list of promising directors to watch.