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Movies / On DVD / Little Children
Little Children

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Little Children (2006)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:121

Rotten:31

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 comments; UK critics are listed first)
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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
Ben Walters
Time Out
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
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [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
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
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
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

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
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

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

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
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sexual deviates become heroes. This film is excrement on celluloid.

Full Review Source: Outtakes With Fiore | comment 3 Comments
11/27/06
Fiore Mastracci
Fiore Mastracci
Outtakes With Fiore

Peyton Place with a perv!

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

It is hard to figure out where to start discussing Little Children. It is easy enough to say that it is the best American film of 2006 to date, since it is.

Full Review Source: Movie City News | comment 1 Comment
09/01/06
David Poland
David Poland
Movie City News

Little Children's stone-cold suburbia reaches for Kubrick, but is also half Spielberg.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment 1 Comment
03/15/07
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

O filme de Todd Field ilustra nosso eterno despreparo para lidar com as grandes questões da vida ou mesmo com nossos menores impulsos.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment 1 Comment
02/09/07
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

One of the very best movies of the year, Little Children is a gripping romantic tragedy.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment 1 Comment
12/01/06
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

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
12/30/06
culturevulture.net
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
01/06/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
02/09/07
Sydney Morning Herald

Todd Fields' superb film adaptation of the novel by Tom Perrotta result is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about.

comment Comment
09/28/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I'm sorry, an interesting premise, a keen eye and a veneer of emotional seriousness are not enough.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
09/29/06
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Seldom these days does one encounter such an intricate narrative so persuasively performed by the entire cast, most notably by Ms. Winslet and Mr. Wilson as the adulterous lovers.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
10/25/06
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Little Children

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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...

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