Film Review: "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011).

"Mummy's little monster..." This is We Need to Talk About Kevin. This psychological thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay, adapted by Ramsay and Rory Stewart Kinnear, and based on Lionel Shriver's novel of the same title. Eva Khatchadourian is a travel writer/publisher who gives up her beloved freedom and bohemian lifestyle to have a child with her husband, Franklin. Pregnancy does not seem to agree with Eva, but what's worse, when she does give birth to a baby boy named Kevin, she can't seem to bond with him. When Kevin grows from a fussy, demanding toddler into a sociopathic teen, Eva is forced to deal with the aftermath of her son's horrific act.

In 2005, BBC Films acquired the rights to adapt Shriver's novel as a film with executive producers Paula Jalfon and Christine Langan, as well as Tilda Swinton, developing it. By 2006, Ramsay signed on to direct and began working on a script with writer Robert Festinger. Shriver was offered a consultative role in the production process but declined, though she did express concern for how the film would capture Eva's role as the unreliable narrator. Production had not begun by 2007, though BBC Films renewed the adaptation rights early in the year. In September 2007, in an interview with The Herald, Shriver stated that she had not been in contact with Ramsay about the film for over two years. Ramsay's spokesperson told the newspaper that a new script draft was being prepared and, at the time the interview was published, had not been submitted to the producers. The film was expected to begin shooting that year. The script appeared on the 2008 Brit List, a film-industry-compiled list of the best unproduced screenplays in British film. Ramsay's partner Kinnear also contributed to the final shooting script. In February 2010, Langan told the London Evening Standard that the long delay in production had been caused by BBC Films having difficulty funding the high budget; Ramsay rewrote the script so the film could be made for a lower cost. The UK Film Council awarded £18,510 to the production from its development fund in the same month. By late April, Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late May. Filming took place in Stamford, Connecticut.

The film stars Swinton, Reilly, Miller, and Fallon Hogan. The cast quietly made this quirky, enigmatic and disturbing family piece a compelling and terrifying watch.

Audiences and critics alike will find We Need to Talk About Kevin to be hauntingly beautiful, though its story is somewhat hard to stomach. The film is a raw yet beautiful coming-of-age film too dark for kids. This is often a stunningly, grimly beautiful film, but one that leaves a bitter aftertaste. The film is a family tragedy that plays its story simply, sorrowfully, and beautifully. It's done so deftly, with such a exquisitely poetic touch and keen understanding of the paradoxical coexistence of love and hate in families, that you can forgive some of its narrative triteness.

Simon says We Need to Talk About Kevin receives: