Little Children, 2006

Little Children, 2006
Director: Todd Field
Cast: Jennifer Connely, Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson


Stage: Home TV Selection

Little Children in short: Echoes of "Madame Bovary" in the American suburbs. Sarah's in a loveless marriage, long days with her young daughter at the park and the pool, wanting more. Brad is a househusband, married to a flinty documentary filmmaker. Ronnie is just out of prison - two years for indecent exposure - living with his mother; Larry is a retired cop, fixated on driving Ronnie away. Sarah and Brad connect, a respite of adult companionship at the pool. Ronnie and Larry have their demons. Brad should be studying for the bar; Larry misses his job; Ronnie's mom thinks he needs a girlfriend. Sarah longs to refuse to be trapped in an unhappy life. Where can these tangled paths lead?


Preps: none in perticular. Getting over the flu and this seems a perfect selection.


Reality: Some of more important life themes seem to pop out in this piece. The flow is constructed of a figure of a good family, being interrupted by an affair. The guy is again, put in the middle of the two women he cannot decide about. Being married to one, screwing another, he just has this figure of a mortuary guy, not being understood by the system. Having his second spring and having an affair with a woman he encountered at the children's playground.. well it brings out a lot of feelings and will go deeper into your soul.

Marrying someone you think it's allright for you but falling for someone that beieves in you (Sarah in this case), this brings out a whole bunch of problems you maybe didn't want to face. What to do next, what is the right thing, you will maybe lose your mind trying to tackle this problem.

Moreover, the movie speaks also about speaking loud about your feelings in your neighbourhood, being mocked and judged by your female neighbours. Furthermore, is being a housewife enough or should you strive for more?


A plus of the movie is definitely the narrator, which is not a typical role in the movies, making sure the viewer understands what director wanted to say. Not really sure if I am thrilled about it or I see it merely as a tool to find the director's minus - he obviously wasn't sure we will get it so he filled this fear with the narrator. Maybe the first feeling overcomes the second and I love this explanatory voice that keeps popping up.


My personal rating: 7,0 (will make you think about your virtues and the way you pursue them in your own life).


Little Children on IMDB