We Need to Talk About Kevin

Finden Sie die folgenden Begriffe in einem Wortsuchrätsel für Filmwissenschaft: "fragmentiert", "Erzählung", "Hypothese", "subjektiviert", "Standpunkt", "Erweiterung" und "Segmentierung". Hören Sie ihrer Kommilitonin von nebenan zu: "Ich dachte, es würde wieder so etwas wie Allein zu Haus werden, mit diesem Kevin." (25.07.2012)

A very distinctive directorial imprint in the most depressing film in years. Perhaps it tries too hard. In any case, Tilda Swinton deserves an Oscar. (27.02.2012)

Little kids are terrifying. Not only at Halloween. This drama by Scottish director Lynne Ramsay is actually “just” a more intense version of American family movies about problem children. It doesn’t dispense with standard situations such as “a change of scenery will do him good”, but rather takes them to extremes bordering on allegories whose meaning is diametrically different from that of comforting films of this type. (It's a shame that the potential of the fictional outcomes was not developed and manifested, for example, during the restaurant scene, when We Need to Talk about Kevin ruthlessly depicts the clichés of similar “coming-together” conversations.) The abstract family environment doesn’t give a feeling of safety and certainty; on the contrary, Eva has no idea what to expect from her own child. It’s impossible to predict her son’s behaviour, which leads to her own internal unease, impactfully depicted through impressionistic shots bordering on the avant-garde, as well as the outward unease of those around her. Through passive penance, the protagonist defends herself against social bullying, a terror similar to the systematic abuse inflicted on her by Kevin. The humble acceptance of her lot is legitimised thanks to the incorporated Christian symbolism; however, the “suffering redeemed through suffering” approach to the protagonist strikes me as very cruel. Childbirth is obviously disturbing and painful for her. Motherhood deprives her of her privacy, her possibility of self-realisation and even the favour of her husband, who is depicted somewhat one-dimensionally as an absolutely uncomprehending and ineffectual element creating a mere semblance of harmony. Without avoidance, the film asserts that the son is like dried blood for Eva. A stain that she cannot wash off, a haunting reminder of the sinfulness of the sexual act, which here has a pure reproductive purpose (both scenes of sexual intercourse are followed by pregnancy). Due to its ostentatious negativity, the film is unconvincing as a realistic drama, but it undoubtedly fulfils its purpose as a means of contraception. 80% (18.03.2012)

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a very depressive drama. Before the screening I thought it would take me all the way to five stars, in the end, though, it took me only four. Praising Tilda Swinton’s performance is stating the obvious, but I can’t help it, she’s absolutely brilliant. What I didn’t like too much was little Kevin, the film portrays him almost too demonic. Instead of a boy unloved by his mother and pushed towards life-long psychological trauma, he looks like a kid controlled by either Satan or an extraterrestrial intelligence drawing plans to conquer the world. The result is not perfect, but it’s certainly effective. 8/10 (21.12.2011)

This is a film that stands precisely at the intersection of two genres. The director evidently wanted to make a serious psychological drama, but if I were to watch the film in this way, I would take a much more critical stance and evaluation. It works much better as a psychological horror about a psychopath who systematically destroys his family. When regarded as a lighter genre, the film reliably defeats its mischievous genre counterparts and is interesting in how it radically overturns traditional stereotypes about the relationship between mother and child. The film tells the story of the crisis and downfall of one family in a disturbing way. Tilda Swinton seems to have been born for the role of Eva, as her relationship with her own child develops confrontationally from the very beginning. Where others see angels, she sees an enemy. Beneath the facade of a contented middle-class family, tension grows, the atmosphere thickens, and attitudes become radicalized. The screenwriter cleverly doles out information and actually only reveals the tragedy of the whole case and the depth of the main character's pain and conflict in the end. For Tilda Swinton, the role of the mysterious and silent Eva was probably the same opportunity that the role of Carrie was for Sissy Spacek - with the difference that this film significantly surpasses Carrie in its qualities. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a dark, unpleasant, and depressing film. If it were not only skillfully and effectively directed, but also more restrained and ultimately less unequivocal, it could also function as a powerful psychological drama. Overall impression: 90%. (19.11.2015)

It is not fundamentally well thought out and the motivations of the main (anti)hero would be very hard to find, on the other hand it is very difficult to find meaningful patterns in the head of a psychopath (?). Tilda Swinton is phenomenal as always, and watching this atmospheric, hypnotic downer is not pleasant, but the direction and the sometimes bizarre contrast of colours and lighting in various scenes make it a very unique and distinctive experience. (17.08.2016)

"We need to talk about Kevin" is definitely... an interesting movie. The problem is that it is divided into three phases. The first phase is when we try to fit into the story, accept the seemingly unsystematic storytelling style at first glance, and try to guess what it's about. The second phase begins when we already know what it's about and watch how the drama unfolds, builds up, and thickens. But after a while, it breaks and the third phase follows. The third phase is waiting to find out what Kevin actually did. This waiting is tedious, and what was an interesting struggle between mother and son turns into a tedious waiting for the end. It's a shame because the story that gradually unfolds is powerful. The mother, played by the increasingly androgynous Tilda Swinton, has problems with her son, who in places resembles Damien from "The Omen." He torments his mother, who takes it very hard and falls into a state that definitely can't be called happy. We already know from the beginning that Kevin did something. The viewer then waits for what he did throughout the whole movie. The realization is not as strong as it could be because the film prepares us for it the whole time. Nevertheless, it's a movie that impacts you. One tries, but simply can't influence everything. It's as if evil really grows uncontrollably in some of us. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/warrior-x-ms-1-sibir-5x-rychle-zbesile.html (25.02.2013)