Little Children (2006)

My apologies for the lack of posts, I was busy fight the tyrant Lord Haas to force him to release the new episode of the MeanDawg Top 5. I have officially succeeded and I will now withdraw my army from the battlefield. Today, I'm reviewing a film that caught me completely by surprise and a film that I had not heard anything about before I bought it and watched it. As you can probably guess from the title, I'm reviewing Little Children today.

Little Children stars Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, and, most importantly, my favorite actress of all time: Kate Winslet. Written and directed by Todd Field, the film focuses on life in suburbia for Sarah Pierce (Winslet), Richard Pierce (Gregg Edelman), Brad Adamson (Wilson), and Kathy Adamson (Connelly). In Little Children, we see each of the characters change their lives, their way of thinking, and/or make some form of self-discovery. This makes it very similar to American Beauty in that respect, because of the similar themes of making your life better. Instead of living in the doldrums of everyday life, change something and do what you've always wanted to do.

The plot of the movie is a bit difficult to get into, because each character really has their own plot. Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson's characters are both unhappy in their marriages and when they meet, they know that there is something there between the two of them. Connelly spends most of the movie trying to figure out what is wrong with her husband, but she also shows in her actions why her husband is unhappy. There is also a subplot and "sub-character" in the film named Ronnie. Ronnie is a convicted pedophile and, to say the least, his welcome back to suburbia is not a warm one. We follow this plot and we follow all of the hatred, loneliness, and anger that Ronnie feels. It's so hard to describe this plot, because it is so well done and so deep. However, I think I've done the best I can with that.

Little Children is my absolute favorite kind of film: A character and dialogue driven film. If that's not really your kind of thing, I don't know if you'll like this one. The acting, for the most part, is very, very good. Which is required for this kind of movie, because you won't buy it if the actors don't pull it off. Wilson and Winslet are clearly the best in this film, but Connelly and the other more minor characters do a nice job as well. Plus, Connelly isn't too bad to look at. Then again, Kate Winslet is a beautiful woman. So, if that's what you're looking for, you probably won't be disappointed. ;)

There are a few flaws, notably the opening narration. It's a shame that's the first thing you notice in the film, because it is just a little bit cheesy. However, once you get past that, the movie draws you in with the characters. Overall, a vastly underrated movie and one that most people haven't gotten around too. I loved it.

8.5/10

I know that's a really stupid grade to give a movie, but it feels right. 8/10 and 9/10 just didn't feel right.