Carnage @ Universal Little theatre 2
The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels
This claustrophobic collision of two sets of upper class
parents shows you what happen when “people stop being nice, and start being
real”.
The Pop N/A: free screening = no pop corn
The Film:
This
has been a big year for sophisticated plays adapting to the screen, Carnage, A Dangerous Method (which
Christolph Waltz dropped out of in favor of the former), and War Horse. Each one was taken to the
screen by a great director who started working in the seventies and each one
seems perfectly suited to the man behind the lens. Carnage reflects both Polanski’s interest in putting his characters
in a pressure cooker, and probably reflects some of his own recent
claustrophobia under his recent house arrest. The film traps you with these characters who go off the
rails, luckily the cast is great, the set design fertile, and the direction
assured enough to keep you onboard. At the end of the film you’re eager to get
out of the theatre and breathe some fresh air, but you won’t regret the time
spent.
The
film revolves around two sets of parents, their children got into a fight at a
park and they’ve gathered to deal with it like civilized adults. As soon as you
see the four power-house actors on screen though, you know nothing will be
simply settled. Each one has an incredible life behind their eyes, they are all
suppressing something, and if they never crossed paths these repressions would
stay below the surface. However around the touchy subject of children a
conflagration is set off that traps these people together, with shifting
alliance and increased lunacy. The results are a delight to watch that makes
you cringe and laugh.
Of
the plays that have been made into movies this year, this one is the most
theatrical. Its single location gives few opportunities for characters to
escape, to even find a quiet moment to regroup. Instead every opportunity to leave,
to separate the rivals is squandered or ruined. In some cases its easy to decry
a film for not opening the play up, however Polanski is a master at keeping a
film contained and the play calls for it. It works well, even if by the time
the film is over your eager for escape.
Luckily
while the film proceeds we are stewarded by an excellent cast. Kate Winslet’s milky beauty as the hypochondriac
and put apon housewife is somewhat wasted at times, but she performs admirably
even in the background of scenes. John C Reilly as the schlubby husband seems
an odd match for Jodie Foster, but he brings the film some much needed levity.
Christolph Waltz boorish lawyer cuts through social niceties like a hot knife
through butter and he does it with such practiced ease. The real scene stealer
though is Jodie Foster’s neurotic dynamo of writer, its great to see her in a piece that gives her a challenge,
she’s a powder keg waiting to blow and watching her fall apart on screen is a
real treat.
It’s
easy to speculate about why Polanski chose this as his next project. Maybe it
was easy to relate to the claustrophobic setting. Maybe he simply wanted
something that could be shot simply and quickly to get back into the game of
film-making. Either way he took to the material. He nailed the tone and gave
the film an easy free flowing feel. The film is staged wonderfully and the cast
really does turn in some great work for him. Also mentions must be made for the
set designer, there were pieces of the apartment a mish-mash of art styles that
I couldn’t keep my eyes off of. It really gave the film a great texture.
I
gave this film a strong rating, because it’s a well made piece of film making.
If you think it’d be your cup of tea then it probably is, not everyone will
love this movie. However if you and your partner are feeling brave, then try a
ride on this film and see how you feel about each other after.
The Corn:
The downside of free screenings is a lack of concessions in
this case, but the quiet little theatre with its guild audience was a perfect
compliment to the film.
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