Little Children

2006
7.5| 2h17m| R| en
Details

The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.

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Reviews

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Dalbert Pringle If you ask me - I think that a much more fitting title for this decidedly bleak, black comedy (from 2006) would have been "American Beauty: The Sequel".Filled to overflowing with endless ill-will and depressing personal dramas - Little Children's story of small-town gossip, infidelity, fetish, and dissatisfaction in the bedroom (as well as a bit of sexual perversion thrown into the mix, for good measure) - Left me feeling like I seriously needed to take a long, hot shower, after it was all over, in order to scrub away all of the trauma and taint that prevailed and totally saturated me during this picture's 2.2-hour running time.To be sure - Little Children is the sort of little "tattle-tale" soap opera that isn't gonna appeal to everyone's tastes. No way. But, with that said - It certainly did contain its fair share of truly compelling moments that helped to earn it a 5-star rating from yours truly, Dalbert Pringle.
SnoopyStyle Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is in a loveless marriage and her husband is obsessed with internet porn "Slutty Kay". She is the least prepared mother in her group at the playground. The others have taken to calling Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) the "prom king" who brings his son to the park. He's married to documentary maker Kathy Adamson (Jennifer Connelly) and supposed to be studying for his bar exam but he doesn't. The girls are too scared to talk to him so Sarah decides to do it. They kiss to shock them but he can't leave it behind him. Brad's friend former cop Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich) is obsessed with recently released pervert Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley).Todd Field delivers another awards worthy film. Patrick Wilson is made for this role. He has a creepy edge that keeps him from being the perfect nice leading man. There is no other Kate Winslet. If anything, she's too beautiful to be the frumpy housewife role. She's luminescent. The role fits more for somebody like Jane Adams. Speaking of Jane Adams, her scene with Jackie Earle Haley is supremely horrific. Jackie gets a well-deserved comeback. My biggest issue is the narration. It gives it a literary feel coming from the novel written by Tom Perrotta. It keeps the story at a distance from the audience. There is less immediacy. It feels fictional. Some may like this way more but I found the narration a little annoying.
The Couchpotatoes When I saw it was a drama/romance I didn't have high expectations because that's normally not the kind of movies I go for. But it was quite the opposite of what I expected. It's a remarkable movie about two lovers, both married, having a secret affair while in the mean time the whole neighborhood is on alert because a known sex offender is living nearby. The whole cast did a great job with their respective roles. Kate Winslet as Sarah Pierce and Patrick Wilson as Brad Adamson are a delight to watch in their secret forbidden romance. The sex offender Ronnie J. McGorvey played by Jackie Earle Haley is by far one of the strongest actors in this movie. You kind of feel sorry for him sometimes, but then his weird and perverted nature surfaces and you immediately hate him again. Very well played if you ask me. The movie might be long but time just flies by when you're watching it. I was pleasantly surprised and can only recommend it to everybody.
videorama-759-859391 Little Children, granted isn't the best movie ever made, and is probably given more credit than it deserves. It's good but not great. But may'be I should look closer, for it is quite a character study into flawed characters, a lot of who really hate themselves. It is an excellent screenplay, three interweaving stories, through characters, driven by situations and circumstances, the main plot really being the release of a known 48 year old pedophile, and an angry community. The pedo is chillingly played by Jackie Earle Hayley, in just what it is virtuoso acting, from a guy who's made way too less movies, and always impresses in other films. He's an actor to watch. But all the other performances should be commended too, some who I don't need to spout names. It also has a Happiness movie character playing much the same kind of shy character as she did in that 99 Art-house film. Little Children is very realistic, especially in the public versus pedophile scenario, where one character gets really heated, among the other of a disfavoring community. This is so real, where the great script just takes on a real approach. What I hated about little children, was that sleepy middle aged, informing voice over, to really describe how the characters feel. We don't need that. Let the characters do that. This is what minimally ruined what is otherwise a good film, with a kind of un befitting but cute title. Highly recommended.