| |
|
 
|
| LITTLE CHILDREN |
 |
 |
| Actors: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Gregg Edelman |
| Director: Todd Field |
|
Studio: New Line Home Video |
| DVD release: 01 May 2007 |
|
Runtime: 137 minutes (1 disc) |
| Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Features: Audio Tracks (English, Dolby Digital & 2.0 Stereo Surround), Subtitles (English, Spanish), Closed captions, Animated menu |
|
Kate Winslet stars as Sarah Pierce, a stay-at-home mom who can't seem to plunge herself into world of mothering as deeply as the other mothers who meet at the park every day. She manages to keep them at arm's-length with mild hostility and by burying her face in a book in their presence. It's just as well; they're pretty catty. When Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) comes to the park, Sarah goes forth to meet him while the others stare, aghast at her bravado. To them he's the Prom King. When Sarah and Brad exchange a kiss, the catty women gather up their children and leave the small park. Sarah's out. She and Brad have playtime for their children at the pool from then on, becoming fast friends and more. They're both frustrated with their marriages, and I'll leave it at that.
Jackie Earle Haley plays Ronnie McGorvey, a recently released convicted sex offender. He's moved in with his mother, and the neighborhood is less than pleased. Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich) is a retired cop who puts up posters of Ronnie, vandalizes his mother's house and harasses Ronnie in every spare minute (and he's got a lot of them). There is more crisscrossing of lives here among these neighbors, and the broad strokes are explained by the narrator (Will Lyman). He gives us sparing insight into their lives as though we're observing them on an episode of Nova . He describes Sarah's husband's embarrassing indiscretions with detached insight. If he were describing a cheetah disemboweling a gazelle (which I'm sure Lyman must have done), he'd use similar inflection. He's not here to judge, only to explain. To educate.
All the ugly sides of these people twist and turn, and in the climax we see a potential for explosive disaster - yet in the end, these
flawed people stop short of ruining their lives for the most part.
Kind of like in real life... or on Nova.
|
|
|
