We Need To Talk About Kevin: Review

Originally a book by Lionel Shiver, this is a spine-tingling dramatic thriller surrounding two crucial characters: Eva played by Tilda Swinton, a mentally tortured character , who struggles to bond with her son Kevin, played by Ezra Miller, from the get-go.

Image via TheIncredibleSuit

The book was based around a string of letters which Eva had sent to her estranged husband trying to figure out where they had gone wrong while raising their son, after he commits a massacre in a local school. However, this concept could never successfully translate on screen, so instead, director Lynne Ramsay cleverly told the story through the use of flashbacks throughout the film, giving the audience the history of Eva’s relationship with Kevin in the lead up to the massacre.

Eva is trying to piece together her life after giving birth to Kevin, and considering whether or not her misjudgements as a parent led to Kevin being who he is. It’s evident through the film that the fraught mother is haunted by her past as she tries to make sense of it all. From the beginning it’s clear that she suffers heavily from post-natal depression which is no doubt the primary reason for her strained relationship with her son as he grows up.

The question that Eva is continually trying to figure out is essentially whether or not this resentment she has to motherhood has somehow affected Kevin’s psychological state and played a key part in creating this monster child who has ended up a murderer. Was she responsible this destruction, or did he create it himself and lead her into believing she was responsible? We Need to Talk About Kevin allows the viewer to make up their own mind.

By the end of the film there is no doubt that you will be left feeling uneasy, if not definitely disturbed, which doesn’t take away from the fact this is a great film. The script, cinematography and most of all the performances draws you in completely and you will be deeply absorbed in the goings-on right through to the end. It has to be one of Tilda Swinton’s best performances yet, portraying this worn out character with true conviction – it was chilling. We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of my favourite films of the year, definitely worth going to see.

Have you seen it yet? What were your thoughts on the film? Leave us a comment with your opinion on it below.

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