Directed by: Todd Field
Premise: The film is a portrayal of a community and
the families that live within it. Two married friends (Kate Winslet and Patrick
Wilson) begin an affair and contemplate leaving their families. At the same time
a sex offender (Jackie Earle Haley) moves into the neighborhood and causes
uproar among the residents.
What Works: Little Children is the kind of
film that that is able to successfully navigate between telling intimate stories
and then contextualize those interpersonal narratives within a larger
environment. The affair between Sarah (Wislet) and Brad (Wilson) has an
authenticity to it beyond what most of these kinds of stories accomplish and
although the romance follows a fairly predictable plotline, it is very well
done. If Sarah and Brad’s story were isolated, Little Children might
remain be a fairly conventional romantic tragedy, but the context of the film
gives it its richness. The supporting story of Ronny (Haley), a recently
released sex offender, pulls and twists at our sympathies and adds an unstable
element to the film that provides a sense of danger and foreboding. In contrast
is the story of Larry (Noah Emmerich), a neighborhood watchman with a dark past
who pursues Ronny. Between the two of them the sense of morality and
righteousness shifts back and forth, and the film does not take one side or the
other, but makes the distinction blurred. With all of these stories working
together, Little Children renders the complicated ways sexuality shapes
relationships for better and for worse.
What Doesn’t: The film includes narration early
on that is intended to be ironic and funny (it sounds like a documentary voice
on National Geographic), and while it does set up the story with a few laughs,
it also gets a bit obnoxious in places.
Bottom Line: Little Children is an intelligent film about romantic dreams versus the realities of suburban and married life. It is able to achieve a substantial texture. Despite a few shortcomings in the storytelling, the substance of the story is rewarding.