We Need to Talk About Kevin

Based on Lionel Shriver’s ponderous novel, We Need to Talk About Kevin follows Tilda Swinton’s Eva Khatchadourian as she attempts to cope with her increasingly sinister son (Ezra Miller’s Kevin) – with the film unfolding largely in flashback as Eva struggles to get on with her life after Kevin commits a heinous crime. Filmmaker Lynne Ramsay has pared Shriver’s novel down to the bone and essentially offers up a freewheeling, impressionist piece of work that is, at the outset, nothing short of exhilarating. The viewer is forced to wonder just how long Ramsay is going to be able to keep this up, and it’s worth noting that the director, by and large, sticks to the time-shifting narrative right to the bitter end. It is, as such, not surprising to note that the movie suffers from a palpable lack of momentum, though this ultimately isn’t as problematic as the character of Kevin himself. As portrayed by both Miller and Jasper Newell (as a young boy), Kevin comes off as a ludicrously evil force who often seems as though he’d be more at home within a throwaway thriller (eg Orphan or The Good Son). The viewer is consequently left with the feeling that We Need to Talk about Kevin doesn’t entirely work as either an art-house drama nor an over-the-top horror flick; despite this issue, however, the movie certainly remains quite watchable from start to finish and it’s hard to deny the impact of the admittedly gripping final half hour. Both Swinton and Miller are superb in their respective roles, undoubtedly, and Ramsay has accomplished something quite unique here – which is, in itself, reason enough to embrace this challenging yet erratic piece of work.

*** out of ****