One of my favorite Hollywood actresses is Kate Winslet, and in Little Children she plays a bored stay-at-home mother who embarks on an affair with a stay-at-home dad (played by Patrick Wilson) who she first runs into at the park one afternoon.
The film, on one level is about adultery, but look at it from a larger perspective and you’ll notice it’s really a study of human behavior.
That detail incidentally, becomes more obvious when you consider the other story that’s running parallel here – about a convicted child molester (played by the excellent Jackie Earle Haley) who’s moved back home with his aged mother after doing time.
Both these stories run parallel and converge at the end in a fairly interesting manner.
Apart from a searing performance by Winslet, the film’s biggest strength is its brutally honest look at adultery and infidelity. The situations under which this couple comes together are so sad, real and relatable that it’s hard to judge them and persecute them as cheaters despite their morally questionable behavior.
Little Children is the kind of mature film that embraces the complexities of human nature instead of pretending that they don’t exist.
I saw Little Children a couple of years ago and liked it. I mean it’s not a movie you enjoy because it’s actually disturbing.
Comment by Janhvi Patel — October 6, 2010 @ 11:11 pm
I love every Winslet movie she is in.I mean she is such an impact (not just titanic),you can actually feel questioning urself after seeing her performances.Be it heavenly creatures,eternal sunshine,finding neverland,rev road,the reader (her absolute best),iris,sense & sensibility,little children,the holiday & life of david gale.Brilliant!All performances are unsetlling,versatile & realistic She is the epitome of beauty & talent.She will easily beat meryl streep (although i respect her) in most nominated actor in academy history as she is still 35.Looking forward to her upcoming films Contagion,Mildred Pierce & God of Carnage in 2011.Freaking can’t wait!!!
Comment by princy — December 16, 2010 @ 12:41 pm