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Little Children Todd Field's "Little Children" is the story of four individuals in a small northeastern town whose lives intersect. It has moments of humor, sadness, eroticism, and has been compared to another Oscar-winning film, "American Beauty." But "American Beauty," while aspiring to be a sharp satire on suburbia, was more of a farce populated by mostly unlikable characters. But even the most despicable type of character in "Little Chidren," a sex offender named Ronnie (Jackie Earle Haley), is afforded an amount of humanity.
Director Field adapted "Little Children" with author Tom Perrotta from Perrotta's novel of the same name, and after seeing the movie twice now, I want to read the book. I mean, it's next in line (okay, maybe after the final Harry Potter)! Perotta and Field use the tricky device of an off-screen narrator to carry some of the story. Tricky because narration can sometimes be a crutch for the filmmaker, but in this case, Field seems to have taken a page from former colleague Stanley Kubrick's notebook and employs the narrator as an omniscient character whose commentary sometimes anticipates on-screen developments, similar to Kubrick's use of the narrator in "Barry Lyndon." Doing so often lends a certain amount of wry humor to his observances. In the film, Sarah and Brad are parents who meet at the playground one day while shepherding their children through the rituals of toddlerhood (snack at 10 a.m., nap in the afternoon). Both unhappily married, they soon strike up a friendship, and to the horror of the other suburban parents in the neighborhood, a thinly concealed affair. This leads to some interesting interactions between the two, as each seeks the affair for their own reasons. She, to escape her porn-addicted husband, and he to recapture some of his youthfulness and vigor that his wife (Jennifer Connelly) either no longer sees, or does not acknowledge. Into the town comes Ronnie (Haley), a sex offender that loves kids, but thankfully loves his mother more. The bane of his existence is Larry (Noah Emmerich), a former cop who makes it his mission to harass Ronnie. Two scenes strike me in this film that is full of startling and striking scenes. In one, Ronnie goes on a date with a young woman as a favor to his mother, who thinks by going out with women nearer his own age, he might overcome his unnatural urges. But after a good start, things turn out differently for Ronnie, and the audience's expectations, and Hollywood convention, is turned on its head. Seeing "Little Children" in the theater, I don't remember the last time I have seen an audience react so strongly to a scene. In another scene, Sarah has been invited to discuss Madam Bovary at a book club, and while she debates the book with another housewife, she remembers her trysts with Brad. A kind of faraway look comes over Kate Winslet's face near the end of the scene, and I went from rooting for Sarah and Brad to feeling pity for them, who are truly the titular "Little Children" here. As they are wont to do in a film like this, things come to a head as Sarah, Brad, Larry and Ronnie each affect each other in surprising ways. And I have barely scratched the surface in relating to you how good and naturalistic the performances are in this film, essential to making the gently satirical elements of "Little Children" work, and so unlike "American Beauty." The recently released DVD of "Little Children" does great justice to this picturesque New England tale. But I was disappointed that the disc contains no special features whatsoever. Not even the film's innovative trailer, which used spare dialogue and the sound of passing trains, is included. In this day and age of overloaded DVDs selling for ten dollars at your average big box store, a bare-bones disc such as this is a hard sell to consumers, especially at $27.95 suggested retail (though it is available online for under $20). Still, if you're going to skimp on the extras, the film better be damn good, and this one is. 5/4/07 Back to the main Cinema Tuesdays Reviews page More about the Cinema Tuesdays series  |
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Jackie Earle Haley
