We Need to Talk About Kevin Review: Uncompromising Emotionality

Children can be cruel, but sometimes, they can be even worse. We Need to Talk About Kevin examines malevolence in an adolescent.

The movie tells the story of Eva (Tilda Swinton) as she deals with the aftermath of her son’s (Kevin played by Ezra Miller)  destructive behavior. Through a series of flashbacks, the movie explores their relationship to see the cause – Eva’s guilt is stacked against Kevin’s own behavior, bringing up the ultimate question of Nature vs. Nurture.

The story opens with Eva trying to move on with her life while wrestling with her guilt. She doesn’t say much, but you can clearly see it on her face.  Through dreamlike sequences, the film looks back at the internal conflict between the mother and son posing a question to the audience – is it Eva’s dissent or Kevin’s innate malevolence that made him into a sociopath?

Tilda Swinton delivers an Oscar-worthy performance. Ezra Miller proves to be an up and coming actor worth following.

The plot moves back and forth between the past and the present, giving the audience plenty of clues to figure things out, but craftily edited in a certain way that it doesn’t diminish its impact in the end.

We Need to Talk about Kevin doesn’t provide easy answers. In the end, the movie shows us all that’s left is a mother and a child trying to cope with the truth. Most of the time, that’s all you can really do.