Eva and Franklin are a happy couple enjoying the fruits of life and loving each other wholly. When Eva becomes pregnant the couple are overjoyed with anticipation for the arrival of Kevin. Once the baby arrives all is not so blissful, Kevin is a cranky child whose incessant crying wears Eva down to the point of breaking. As Kevin gets older he becomes more difficult, he stubbornly refuses to talk although the doctors can find no reason for this whatsoever, he refuses to potty train and uses his sharp wit to manipulate his parents. Kevin shows blatant contempt for his mother while he carelessly bonds with his father over video games and outdoor sport. Preteen Kevin is not pleased when he discovers Eva is going to have a second child and much effort is put into his adjusting. We fast forward to Kevin at high school age and the family seems to have adjusted to his frequent nastiness, misbehaving and snide remarks. They choose to ignore these behaviors and move past them, a decision Eva will seriously question when Kevin's belligerence erupts into violence.
One of the things I truly love about our blog is how we blur the lines of horror to include films that truly have a horror aspect but may not otherwise class as traditional horror. I've given this film a solid 4 start rating because of this very fact although I do believe it deserves more if considering it as a drama. The film begins with Eva leaving her house to find her car and house are covered in red paint. Flashbacks point to a horrific life crushing event that is only uncovered toward the end of the film. The build up is gripping and infectious, Tilda Swinton's performance can only be described as intense. A film that leaves you thinking when you walk away.
8 comments:
You've piqued my interest, Catfreeek! The title alone seems like it could belong to any genre, and I like that you point out that films with the horror element may not be classified as horror. If there's one thing I've come to appreciate in participating in this blog, it's the point you made exactly!
Sounds like Kevin needs an old fashioned wedgie. This sounds good and I love the title.
You had me at "Tilda Swinton."
I have to respectfully disagree, I hated this movie! It was clear from the beginning that Kevin was severely mentally ill and his mother and completely chose to ignore it. Nonetheless, good review, cat!
I think that's a huge part of it that his parents chose to ignore rather than treat the illness.
True, but his behavior was so deplorable, it would be impossible to Ignore.
The medical doctor telling them there was nothing wrong with him didn't help I'm sure. What was he thinking?
I remember when this came out. And remember thinking it would make me too uncomfortable to watch!
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