Presenting sunny suburbia as having a dark side is not a new tactic, but Fields and company present this grim, smirking fable with refreshing ingenuity.
Comment
10/25/06
Little Children (2006)
80
%
Tomatometer
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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.
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... [More]
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein
Director: Todd Field
Reviews for Little Children
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.
10/25/06
Beautifully crafted, sharply funny and emotionally piercing, all at once.
10/22/06
In a world where you don't always get what you want, when happiness seekers get a chance at an adventure, they jump at it, no matter where it leads.
10/22/06
Lesser actors would suffocate under director Todd Field's stringent formalism... so it's a good thing he's got the amazing Kate Winslet giving the performance of her already brilliant career.
10/22/06
Field and Perrotta find the humour in human foibles, but it is the drama of humdrum lives that draws their fascination and sympathy. And in Winslet and Wilson, they have found a most fascinating pair.
10/20/06
Filled with moments of painful revelation, real comedy and emotional insight.
10/20/06
This is one of those films that sneaks up on you and offers some wonderful surprises in storytelling and performance -- and the performances are truly astounding, particularly from Winslet and Haley.
10/20/06
To these disappointed eyes, Little Children seems a frustrating mess.
10/20/06
A small wonder of a movie that puts its characters in playground swings and then gives them a push. Watch them fly this way and that, dangling between peril and ecstasy. And see if you don't recognize yourself.
10/20/06
A film you watch with mounting dread, yet cannot tear yourself away from: It's paced like a thriller with the timing of a smart comic.
10/20/06
What Little Children understands so well, and so poignantly, is a kind of parental existentialism that hits 30- somethings with kids: How does having children make you such a less interesting adult?
10/20/06
It is a shrewd, darkly humorous look at supposed civility, at the ways in which we allow ourselves to settle and a rare depiction of motherhood as a less-than-awesome experience.
10/20/06
There's enough good work here to make it worth a look.
10/19/06
Finally, here's a film that embraces human nature instead of twisting it into something ridiculously palatable.
10/19/06
Director and co-writer Todd Field establishes some very nontraditional premises, both stylistic and emotional, that give his film -- based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, who collaborated on the screenplay -- a creepy, hypnotic edge.
10/19/06
Top CriticTonal inconsistencies don't blunt the keenness of its satire, so sharp that I walked out with emotional razor burn.
10/19/06
The main reason to watch is Winslet, who brings flesh-and-blood dimension to Perrotta's central character.
10/19/06
The real force of the movie is its compassion, which is so all encompassing as to be almost religious in nature. Field doesn't turn away from anyone's flaws, and he's always multidimensional in his viewpoint.
10/19/06
A hugely absorbing social drama that is, by turns, excruciating, sad and sardonic.
10/19/06
Latest News for Little Children
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June 18, 2007:
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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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January 23, 2007:
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