Little Children

Although Little Children got mostly positive reviews I wasn't sure I would like it because I thought that director Todd Field's previous film, In the Bedroom, was overrated. However, this film is an outstanding piece of work.

Field and Tom Perrotta adapted the screenplay from Perrotta's novel. The story takes place in a suburban village. The main theme of the film is the dissatisfaction that all of the characters have with their lives.

Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is not your typical suburban wife and mother. While other women in the park are gossiping Sarah is reading a book. Sarah is a plain Jane with a brain (I actually think that she is lovely but she wears much less makeup than the other woman). At one time she wanted to get a PhD but now she is wife to Richard (Gregg Edelman) and mother to little Lucy (Sadie Goldstein).

One day a man and his little boy stroll into the park. The other women have seen him before and have given him the name "The Prom King." His name is actually Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) and his son is named Aaron (Ty Simpkins). Brad has been to law school but has failed the bar exam twice. He is supposed to try for the third time but his heart just doesn't seem to be in it. Brad is married to a (PBS) documentary filmmaker Kathy (Jennifer Connelly). One day one of the women bets Sarah five dollars to see if she (Sarah) can get Brad's phone number. Well, she does better than that and all of the women are quite shocked.

Now, Brad and Kathy's marriage is far from perfect. She seems to be pushing him in a direction that he doesn't want to go in. Sarah and Richard's marriage may be worse. Richard has a problem that I won't get into but it is something that no wife would not be happy about. There doesn't seem to be any chemistry between the two of them. So, what do you think happens between Brad and Sarah? I don't have to spell it out for you. But you may be surprised at how things turn out in the end. One of the things that this film is brave enough to show is that Sarah is far from a perfect mother and this only makes her more human.

There are other things happening in the film as well. Brad's friend Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich) is a former cop who has a past. He is bent on revenge against a sexual predator named Ronald McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley) who has recently been released from jail. He even goes to Ronald's house and torments him by shouting through a bullhorn about Ronald's past. But Ronald's mother May (Phyllis Somerville) is a feisty old woman and confronts Larry with something in his past that is worse than being a sexual predator.

Little Children is a complex, intense, adult film. There is a lot going on at once but never did I feel confused. The transition from one thread to another could have been a little smoother but that is only a minor quibble. From time to time there is a narrative voice. At first it bothered me but it only appears once in a while so it isn't that bad. There are a few sex scenes in the film which are not only realistic but also very hot.

All of the acting is good. Winslet shines as Sarah, once again proving that she is one of our best young actresses. Emmerich is very good as Larry, a man on the edge. And best of all is Haley as the tortured Ronald, a man who can't seem to start over. I felt sorry for just about everyone.

The film made a great impression on me and I am still thinking about it several hours after seeing it. One critic compared it to American Beauty and said that he preferred this film. I agree with him. American Beauty had certain "schtick" that I didn't like but Little Children is the real thing.