Tilda Swinton Needs to Talk About Kevin

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=55635

Source: The Hollywood Reporter
May 17, 2009


Tilda Swinton will play the lead in Lynne Ramsay's big-screen adaptation We Need to Talk About Kevin, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie, based on Lionel Shriver's novel, tells the story of a smart, educated New York mother who does her best to raise a son she never wanted in the first place. He turns out to be extremely difficult and is at the center of the woman's marital breakdown before going on a killing spree at his high school with a crossbow.

The movie is being produced by Jennifer Fox, whose credits include Michael Clayton, the film for which Swinton won a supporting actress Oscar in 2008.

Certainly sounds like meaty Oscar bait.

 

[Octoberist]

I really think that Tilda is very ( and oddly) attractive for a woman in her 40s.

 

[Drz]

We Need to Talk About Kevin Review

This movie makes you want to talk, think and feel towards its subject, which is wonderful, after all movies are made for entertainment and for me, there is a lot of great entertainment from receiving insight, seeing good performance, a very good soundtrack and a subject very fitting for today’s society: School shootings. Based off a 2003 book, it’s still very relevant and the only thing missing from today’s society would be the social network with Twitter & Facebook becoming so mainstream & important to youth culture.

Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) is a famous world traveling journalist and the mother of a teenager who became a school shooter at the age of 16, killing multiple students and causing permanent damages to some, now set in prison for life. What caused this? Was it awful parenting? Was there something always wrong? Is it today’s society? What makes a person decide he wants to kill people at his’ or hers’ school?

The movie has a non-chronological story telling format and jumps from scene to scene on different time periods from before Kevin entered Eva’s life, Kevin’s early years as a child, days before the shootings and years after the shootings. It creates this whole big character arc for both Eva and Kevin. (Who is played by multiple actors)

To talk further about the plot would be spoiling things, so I’ll leave it with this: Tilda Swinton’s performance is pure entertainment, the damage is there, her joy in the past is clear and her role as a mother is the toughest thing she has endured in her entire life, her guilt, her questions and her attempt at a normal life is dramatic. The story telling is interesting and really works out, but the 2nd act of the movie is just really long as the movie begins to heavily focus on the days before the shooting, thus leaving act 3 very short and not packing a punch. The music enhances the scenes with clever usage of songs such as “Everyday” by Buddy Holly & “Mother’s last word to her Son”. It’s a very entertaining movie that makes you want to think and talk about the subject, because it is very real and it is still happening.

To me, I feel situations like Kevin could possibly be avoided if parents and society in general would feel more welcomed to going to shrinks or some family group meetings to truly talk about feelings and possible troubles, ethical questions and so forth.

 

[Alexei Belyakov]

One of the best films of 2011 and the last 10 years. Swinton deserved Best Actress & the film deserved Best Picture, Best Director & Best Adapted Screenplay Nominations.

 

[tzarinna]

I really, really want to see this.

 

[chasel83]

Thank you for sharing.