The film “Something's Wrong with Kevin” is a story from Lynn Ramsey about a rebellion of her son against her mother with British film actress Tilda Swinton in the title role.
Reference psychological thriller
Lynn Ramsey’s new film, “Something's Wrong with Kevin,” filmmakers called the film adaptation of the famous novel “The Price of Dislike” Lionel Shriver, close to the original. The plot of the thriller masterly combines a chilling soul, exciting blood, an almost standard thriller and the deepest drama of human relationships. The picture is saturated with an atmosphere of anxiety, causing real mental discomfort. With an IMDb rating of 7.50, the “Something Wrong with Kevin” tape received opposite reviews. Some experts, delighted in the malleability of the thriller with a sharp social theme, strongly argued that the Lynn Ramsey project is simply “not for everyone”, this movie is individual, purely personal. And the author’s call for dialogue, placed in the title of the picture, can be considered the key rather for the beholder than for the thriller. By the way, according to an incomprehensible and mysterious decision of domestic adapters-distributors, the title of the picture would be more correct to translate as "We need to talk about Kevin."
Triumphant return
The director of the thriller was the promising debutant of the late 1990s Lynn Ramsay. The director is known to the movie community for Pied Piper (IMDb: 7.50), a drama about the consequences of an unintentional teenage murder, and Morvern Callar (IMDb: 6.70) for the consequences of a suicide attempt. After "Morvern Callar" in Lynn’s creative career, there was a long break, she hadn’t made a movie for about ten years, she returned to directing with “Something Is Wrong with Kevin”. Reviews of film critics about the film, which marked the return of the director, are mostly positive. The story of violence and not only earned the highest praise, the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival was awarded 10-minute applause.
Plot
A single woman, Eva Khachadurian (actress Tilda Swinton), is an alcohol abuser, indifferent to home turmoil, and cannot go out without dark glasses. People around practically do not hide their hatred of the heroine, neighbors from seeing off evil eyes and whispering behind their backs and at all switched to active action - acts of direct aggression: they fill her car and the porch with red paint. In the past, the woman had a completely different life: a New York apartment, a family, her beloved husband (actor John C. Riley) and the opportunity to realize herself in the professional field. Eve wrote guides, so she traveled around the world. The birth of a child crossed out all prosperity. The woman was forced to move to the suburbs, refused to travel. But all this faded in comparison with the irrational rejection that her own son met when he was barely born. This is the dramatic story underlying the dramatic thriller "Something's Wrong with Kevin." The plot of the tape leaves a sophisticated viewer a colossal area for analysis and controversy.
Psychodrama
I would like to note that the film “Something is Wrong with Kevin”, having a powerful dramatic and semantic message, is, first of all, an excellent atmospheric thriller that makes the beholder literally feel his skin with sticky frightening anxiety, which intensifies as the climax approaches. The picture focuses on the narrative far more than on the abstract philosophizing or psychology of the central characters. The characters in the picture are very realistic, which serves as an additional sign of the credibility of the plot. This feature of the director is a hallmark of the film "Something is Wrong with Kevin." A review of every second contributor contributes to the particular focus of the story. According to experts, it is ensured by kaleidoscopic, fragmented narrative.
Mosaic holistic picture
Lynn Ramsay, crushing and then mixing whole scenes in a different sequence, collects episodes from different time layers, maintains internal tension, fueling the viewer's interest in the already known denouement. If you try to make a description for the movie “Something is Wrong with Kevin”, then the following should be noted. First, the narrative is built on the consequences of a certain incident. The viewer is not directly told what happened, therefore, during the entire timekeeping, the beholder is forced to collect a mosaic of a holistic picture. Moreover, the author deliberately leaves the purest genre of paintings about the Antichrist, stepping on the path of serious drama, choosing as the prism through which the beholder perceives the twisted plot, the eyes of the main character. Eva's impotence, her confusion, misunderstanding and fear of her son can scare many times more than the most realistic scenes of violence, which are practically absent in the tape.
disadvantages
In fairness, it is worth noting that the picture "Something is wrong with Kevin" received negative reviews. According to some critics, the mass viewer quickly gets tired of the continuous series of flashbacks, torn editing, alternating episodes from the past and present. Moreover, the director was accused of the fact that her use of subtext in the shooting of scenes incomprehensible to fans of a linear plot pursued a specific goal - achieving popularity by attracting the attention of film critics of all stripes. Allegedly, Lynn Ramsey encouraged experts to express themselves through a personal, albeit subjective, analysis of the issues and plot that she raised. Also, actors in the supporting roles were criticized in the film “Something Is Wrong with Kevin”.
Infernal Arthouse
Like almost every other British film project, Ramsey’s film in the context of acting is very similar to a performance. All acting characters are extremely deep, with oddities and puzzles. Actors of the first plan worked to the fullest, all the performers of the role of Kevin (at the age of 3 years - Rock Dur, at the age of 6-8 - Jasper Newell, in the teenage - Ezra Miller) and Tilda Swinton really cause a storm of emotions. True, they are their own for each beholder. According to some critics, if you remove the thoughtful scenes from the picture with a dip in tomato slurry and periodic switching from the present to the past, you will get a wonderful drama of a social theme. And so the work of Ramsey - pure arthouse, causing a brain explosion.
Casting cast
No matter what subjective considerations the “Something Is Wrong with Kevin” tape provoked, the actors in it are amazing. Tilda Swinton’s game is brilliant. The actress makes a rather vivid impression and perfectly conveys the emotional state of her heroine. The winner of the Berlin and Venice film festivals is known to a wide audience by the films “Orlando”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Beach”, “Constantine”, “After Reading Burn” and others.
Ezra Miller successfully revealed the character of Kevin, he was so convincing and believable that it is impossible to imagine someone else in his place. The American actor and musician has been actively acting in film and television projects since 2008, preferring independent films. In his filmography, the following paintings are considered the most significant: “It’s good to be quiet”, “Relatives”, “Remember Gonzo”, “Graduates”.
Oscar nominee John C. Reilly showed great acting opportunities, but his character left the plot on the sidelines.
Acting work is considered one of the successful components of the film "Something is Wrong with Kevin." Quotes taken from character dialogs have almost become catchphrases. In addition, the strengths of the tape were called balanced balanced setting, sound design and visualization. All of the above works harmoniously and clearly to achieve the proper effect.