Little Children: Not quite Beauty

Little Children Director: Todd Field Cast: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich, Greg Edelman, Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville There’s something awfully familiar about the Oscar-nominated film Little Children and it’s called American Beauty. The whole movie has the feel of that Oscar-winning film, which tackles the oddities of people living in suburban America. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, Little Children is about the interaction of people in a small community, where everyone puts a high regard for good parenting, solid familial ties, and “civilized” norms. But Sarah (Winslet), who moved into the neighborhood when she married her husband Richard (Edelman), has not been the epitome of a perfect mother and wife. She forgets to bring food for her daughter and gets impatient with her kid. She considers her afternoon fitness walks with a friend the highlight of her day. The others see her as a “bad mother.” One day, Brad (Wilson) and his son walk into the park where Sarah and three other mothers regularly bring their children. One of the mothers dares Sarah to ask for Brad’s name and number. But Sarah tries to go a bit too far—she asks Brad for a hug. But instead of just giving her a hug, Brad also gave her a kiss. This repulsed the other mothers who, in a condescending manner, hurriedly left the park. It becomes a memorable kiss for Sarah and Brad, who eventually lose touch of each other. But after finding out that her husband is addicted to porn, Sarah decides to pay the town pool a visit as Brad mentioned that he and his son usually go there. She finds Brad with his kid in the town pool and their meetings become a daily afternoon ritual. With Brad’s wife Kathy (Connelly) busy with work and him feeling insecure about having failed the bar exam twice, he soon develops an affair with Sarah. They both agree to leave their families but, after a brush off with bad luck on the night they are supposed to meet, they later decide to go back to their families. The next scenes are a montage of incidents that depict how condescending, self-righteous, and sick people can be. Ronald McGorvey (Haley), who was just released from prison for indecent exposure to a minor, is being harassed by the community for fear of their children’s safety. One of his foremost harassers is Brad’s friend, Larry Hedges (Emmerich), a policeman who has made it his life’s mission to bully Ronald. But most often than not, it is Ronald’s mother, May (Somerville), who takes in the weight of her son’s enemies, later succumbs to a heart attack. The character of Larry Hedges is very much similar to the character of American Beauty's Col. Frank Fitts (played by Chris Cooper), an anti-gay bigot who eventually turns out to be gay as well. But in Little Children, Larry later reveals that he has shot and killed a 13-year old boy years ago when he mistook the boy’s airgun for a real gun. A repentant Larry then tries to save Ronald’s life after finding out that he has chopped his penis off and is fast losing blood. The film ends with the characters contemplating about their lives. As usual, Winslet did a good job in portraying the role of Sarah. She started out with an air of rebelliousness as a mother but ends up looking very insecure and unhappy with her married life. Meanwhile, everyone could probably relate to Brad’s character, whose profile is typical of an insecure husband. Wilson’s portrayal of the role is just acceptable, though, not outstanding. What’s outstanding is Haley’s Ronald McGorvey, which is creepy for the most part of the film. Later, as he grieves his mother’s death, there’s just pure sorrow in losing the only person who had loved him. Watching Little Children is like watching two movies at once. Aside from living within the same moralistic community, Sarah, Brad, and their love affair do not have much to do with Ronald, Larry, and their history. What’s amazing, though, is that the writer was able to make the story cohesive that nothing went astray as the story progresses. What’s good about the film is that amidst the pretentiousness of the characters, there’s honesty with their dialogues and how they deal with other people. Most of the characters are well-developed that even Larry’s angst against Ronald became understandable. As in American Beauty, Little Children is told through a narrator. Though the narrator is not one of the main characters of the film (like Kevin Spacey in AB), it gives off an air of a wise story teller who uses the right words to build up his plot and describe the characters’ thoughts and feelings. (“She wanted just as badly to hold on to the innocent public lives they’ve made for themselves out in the open. So she accepts the trade — the melancholic handshake at four o’clock in exchange of this little patch of grass, some sunscreen, and companionship.”) Little Children surely tells a good story. The film’s title just aptly describes the characters, as they act more like Little Children than the kids in the film. But despite all its good traits, Little Children has failed to surpass what American Beauty has already achieved. - GMANews.TV