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Little Children

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Little Children (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 150

Fresh: 120

Rotten:30

Average Rating: 7.4/10

Consensus: Little Children takes a penetrating look at suburbia and its flawed individuals with an unflinching yet humane eye.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for strong sexuality and nudity, language and some disturbing content.

Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:03-11-2006

Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern... Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern suburbia, LITTLE CHILDREN follows several inhabitants of a small American town as they fumble their way through adulthood. Numb-to-life housewife and mother Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) finds an outlet for her yearning in gorgeous househusband Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson), who is crippled with insecurity over the fact that his perfect wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), is the family breadwinner. When Sarah and Brad meet at the local playground one afternoon, a passionate affair is sparked. In a further attempt to reclaim his youthful fire, Brad joins a night football league with Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a former cop who has begun to harass a convicted sex offender, Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley). These troubled lives eventually collide, causing each individual to take full responsibility for their not-so-responsible actions. Adapted for the screen by Field and Perrotta and artfully photographed by Antonio Calvache, LITTLE CHILDREN is a bitingly funny, and nakedly honest, critique of middle class dysfunction. Though the cast is universally superb, it is former child actor Haley (THE BAD NEWS BEARS, BREAKING AWAY) who steals the show. After only two features, Field proves that he is a truly gifted storyteller. This film was included in the 44th New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Jane Adams, Phyllis Somerville, Sarah Buxton

Director: Todd Field

Director: Todd Field
Producer: Albert Berger
Composer: Thomas Newman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Little Children

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A sharply observed and brilliantly acted study of American suburban life.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/20/07
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Sure to raise heckles in the tabloid press, this is complex, thought-provoking cinema.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a beautifully insightful story co-written by Field and Tom Perrotta (based on his novel) that is sometimes unsettling but always engrossing, and ultimately heart-warming.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are plenty of laughs and plenty of shocks, though, and plenty of shifts of narrative viewpoint within the ensemble to keep you on your toes.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/04/06
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Little Children is a movie that defies easy categorisation. It’s not quite a drama, not quite a love story, not quite a black comedy but rather a little of all three rolled together.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
11/03/06
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Little Children ultimately seems to display the conformity to convention that so alarms its central characters.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/28/06
Ben Walters
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Impressively directed, sharply written and beautifully shot drama with superb performances from the entire cast.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/28/06
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

It strikes such a strongly resonant chord that it's often difficult to watch, but we can't turn away.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/19/06
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Bereft of a protagonist, the movie breaks down under the weight of absurd voice-over narration and an exploitative ending that is as indefensibly wrongheaded as it is cheap.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/24/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

A risky and rewarding art film, but definitely for grown-ups.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
06/24/08
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

Little Children is about as close as a movie can get to literature %u2014 rich, nuanced, erudite and multi-layered.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

The leads are self-delusional, secretive, dependent, nakedly desperate at times, and all fascinating.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
12/10/07
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Provides a taut commentary on hypocrisy, human interaction, and the lies we tell ourselves...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
07/11/07
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

predstavlja upravo ono %u0161to bi "ozbiljni" holivudski film trebao biti

Full Review Source: Index.hr | comment Comment
06/22/07
Dragan Antulov
Index.hr

Peyton Place with a perv!

Full Review Source: EURWeb | comment 2 Comments
05/02/07
Kam Williams
EURWeb

...a flawed work that sparkles only sporadically.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
04/20/07
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The success Fields has with this film comes through the uncomfortable intersection between comedy, melodrama and tragedy. Oh, and romance.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
04/03/07
Michael Wade Simpson
culturevulture.net
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Latest News for Little Children

July 23, 2007: Jackie Earle Haley, More Confirmed for Watchmen Cast
Expect to see a whole lot of "Watchmen" updates over the next several months. And here's one: Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, and Malin Akerman have signed deals to appear in... More...

June 18, 2007: Patrick Wilson (Pretty Much) Confirmed for "Watchmen"
He did great work in both "Hard Candy" and "Little Children," so now it might be time for Patrick Wilson's shot at the comic book material. More...

January 30, 2007: SAG Award Winners Revealed, Oscar Predicting Hits Full Steam
Known as a big predictor of what'll go down Oscar night, the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony took place last Sunday to a rapturous Hollywood crowd without a hitch (or... More...

January 23, 2007: Oscar Nominations Announced: "Little Miss Sunshine," "Dreamgirls," "Borat" Deemed Worthy
The expected heavy hitters made the grade -- Scorsese, Whitaker, "Dreamgirls" -- but there were a handful of surprises...let's just say, if you thought you'd never... More...

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