| Unhappy marriages.
Unsatisfied lives. There is nothing more depressing than living
a boring life. Throw in some toddlers, and there is no greater
sense of entrapment. Poor decisions, early in life, can lead to
desperate choices later. And there is no worse decision than
picking the wrong person to spend your life with. There comes a
time in every marriage, even the seemingly happy & healthy ones, when
you stare across the breakfast table and think that you'd rather be
staring at someone else. "Little Children" stars Kate Winslet and
Patrick Wilson as two halves of separate marriages, each with a child,
whose playground afternoons fatefully merge their discontented worlds.
Sarah Pierce (Winslet) is married to a dullard addicted to an
internet fetish site. Her husband is a virtual non-entity in her
life, as she busies herself with their daughter, her nightly exercise
walk and psychoanalyzing the local soccer-moms. The comparison
to Madame Bovary's story becomes evident when she is invited to a
local book club meeting.
Brad Adamson (Wilson) has a rather different case of ennui.
He is the stay-at-home father married to Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a
somewhat emotionally distant wife who brings home the family bacon as
a documentary filmmaker. Their marriage is one governed by her
permission. Consider the scene where he submissively suggests
that he might get a cellphone. Also, notice the nervousness that
accompanies a hint of rare sex. Brad doesn't really feel any
different than a loyal pet gleeful at the occasional treat.
The connection between Sarah and Brad is sparked by an innocent
kissing prank, intended to make the gaggle of conservative suburban
mothers ravenously jealous. They refer to Brad as "The Prom
King", admiring from a distance, never having mustered up the courage
to even speak to him.
Winslet and Wilson play these characters with an understated
melancholy -- unearthing their mutual attraction, not in a fit of
passion, but in the natural course of daily events. Brad and
Sarah feel right together. They feel safe together. They
neither feel superior to, nor condescended by one another. They
fill each other's voids. It is only inevitable that they give in
to temptation.
This tremendously observant film is not just about the connection
between the central couple. There are periphery characters, not
the least of which are the other marital halves. Gregg Edelmann
looks the part of a bedraggled, office-tied, salesman who is utterly
unaware of the stench-of-boring that exudes from every pore of his
skin.
Jennifer Connelly delivers, yet again, in a stark performance that
requires her to impact the viewer with limited screen time.
There are two scenes where her intense glare speak a thousand words.
It is a powerful, if underwritten, turn.
Noah Emmerich and Jackie Earle Haley have complex roles that
demand dramatic shifts of tone. Both play extremely flawed
characters without exploiting or sympathizing those flaws. And
Jane Adams, one of my favorite character actresses, delivers a
heart-wrenching portrait in a small side-chapter of the film.
However, it is the leads who deliver the finest work. Kate
Winslet is virtually unchallenged as the definitive actress of this
era. She never misses the mark. Her role as Sarah is
intricate and deep, beyond the actions and the words. She is
able to craft a complete embodiment of loneliness and the struggle to
attain a morsel of happiness in this sad world. Winslet has paid
her dues with great roles for over a decade -- It is time for her
Oscar moment.
Patrick Wilson, also seen the in the fantastic indie thriller,
"Hard Candy", adds to his impressive résumé with this role as a
directionless man, almost begging to have someone show him the way to
contentment. It is superb work.
I also want to give a special nod to the narration. It
is deliciously delivered throughout the film, adding a very literary
feel to the proceedings. There is a rather comical use of it during
a football scene, mimicking the renowned NFL films voiceovers.
The problem, which causes me to proclaim this to be the most
disappointing four-star film ever, is that it has misplaced focus.
I don't mind a film that meanders. I don't mind a film that has
multiple characters and threads. However, I do mind when a film
takes me away from what I am truly interested in, only to show me
threads and characters that have overstayed their welcome.
"Little Children" works masterfully when it tells the central story of
Sarah and Brad. It derails ever so slightly when it spends an
inordinate amount of time with the two flawed characters played by
Emmerich and Haley. One a vengeful ex-cop, the other a released
pedophile... Both are interesting diversions, but neither are
deserving of as much attention as the camera ultimately gives them.
I would much rather have spent more time with the main couple or their
spouses.
I felt like it was Thanksgiving dinner... only I got tons of
stuffing and got screwed on the turkey. Sure... the stuffing is
good. But I wanted more turkey damn-it!!! And where's my
cranberry sauce?
"Little Children" comes microscopically close to being an
insightful masterpiece on the disillusionment of suburban marriage.
It gets too involved with the sub-plots to fully achieve that goal.
However, when it does get back on track, this 2006 beauty gathers
steam like an old locomotive headed to one of two places -- happily
ever after or the tragedy of a boring life.
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