I found Little Children to be disturbing, intriguing and at some points I almost felt embarrassed to watch some of the very personal moments brought to life in this film. Director Todd Field, who also brought us In the Bedroom, is once again exceptionally successful at putting the audience directly into the lives of the characters they are watching on screen. Although I do feel that the film is just as well directed and acted as In the Bedroom, it has lost the subtlety that made his previous work so extraordinary. Little Children is based on the Tom Perrotta novel of the same name and centers mainly on Sarah Pierce (the phenomenal Kate Winslet). Sarah is a bored housewife whose husband is falling deep into an obsession with internet porn and she begins to turn to the neighborhood hunk Brad Adamson (the vibrant Patrick Wilson) for support and companionship. Brad is having family troubles of his own with his wife Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) which in turn leads him into the arms of Sarah and they spark up a very erotic affair. The film becomes more complex when a convicted sex offender returns to the small town to live with his mother. This brings about much fear, paranoia and panic amongst the residents of the town even between Sarah, Brad and their children. As all the lives of these main characters begin to collide, events unravel and lives are put at stake. There are brilliantly woven threads woven throughout this story but I feel Field is almost too forceful with some incredibly reckless revelations. This film is not available in MoPix but has enough well written dialog to follow what is going on this story. I must warn you though after I left the theatre, even hours later, I found myself disturbed by what I had seen in this film. It is a very heavy drama superbly acted and very well directed I just would have preferred a more subtle approach to this story.
(New Line Cinema)
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly
