A rich, textured character piece that maintains the quirkiness of the novel, but loses a bit in its oddly slow pacing.
Little Children (2006)
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.
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
Reviews for Little Children
I'm sorry, an interesting premise, a keen eye and a veneer of emotional seriousness are not enough.
Todd Fields' superb film adaptation of the novel by Tom Perrotta result is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about.
One of the most original and nuanced suburban dramas ever to grace the screen; it explores the complexity and intensity of yearning.
At its heart, this is a story about the way we judge others, the way others judge us, and the way we judge ourselves.
Suburbia continues to serve as the dartboard of choice for filmmakers bent on demonstrating their urbane superiority to the dull denizens of tract housing.
'Little Children' sometimes trivializes what deserves serious treatment.
In requiring only passivity from its audience, whom it shovel-feeds faux-erudite lessons, it's the Academy Award-baiting version of Don't Ask, Just Tell cinema.
Every so often a film happens along that defines its times. Once of these is Little Children, in which middle America and its suburban mores and fears fall under the acerbic gaze of Todd Field.
A deftly made, emotionally acute and at times a tad fastidious examination of cracks in middle-class American family life.
Compelling in the way it explores the notion that adults always cruelly use children for their own ends.
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.
As a take on American suburbia, Field's impressive but flawed film offers a darkly humorous view of characters whose paths crisscross in unexpectedly comic and tragic ways. It's a classic anatomy of individual and community in contempo American life.
Latest News for Little Children
July 23, 2007:
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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...
January 30, 2007:
SAG Award Winners Revealed, Oscar Predicting Hits Full Steam
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January 23, 2007:
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