Carnage

Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C Reilly

Dir. Roman Polanski
Scr. Roman Polanski & Yasmina Reza (based on her play)

I had a lot of fun watching this movie. Watching civilities break down and manners thrown out the window. Sure, it feels like a play and, at times, is a little stilted and contrived. And Polanski obviously doesn’t feel the need to try too hard to remind us we’re at the cinema rather than the theatre. But, you know what, I simply didn’t mind. When am I going to get the chance to see this play, let alone see it with four such wonderful actors? It’s confrontational, claustrophobic and utterly funny. Highly recommend.

In a park in New York, two young boys get into a bit of push-and-shove, resulting in the swing of a stick and the loss of a couple of front teeth. In order to deal with the altercation, the parents of both the “bully” and the “victim” meet over cobbler and coffee. Strained yet civil conversation swiftly descends into behaviour more grotesque and juvenile than anything done by their respective sons. Hilarity and cringe-worthiness ensues.

Carnage is cleverly shot, in real time, in one location (with the exception of the opening and closing scenes). A movie based on a play that feels like a play. Like I said, this didn’t bother me. Although I concede it may well bother many. This movie hinges on great dialogue, which it has in spades, and actors capable of descending into madness.

And what a great quartet we get to witness descend. Foster takes on a largely unlikeable role, as bleeding-heart judgmental liberal Penelope, and is wonderfully awful. Winslet is a joy to watch also, as the immaculate Nancy. Her unfortunate incident with the apple and pear cobbler is so gloriously out of character and utterly revolting. Reilly, as Penelope’s husband Michael, is on fine form and the first to completely throw off his carefully constructed mask. For my money, Waltz is the highlight as Nancy’s work-obsessed and cynical husband Alan. Waltz plays the only character who is true to himself from the beginning and, perversely, this makes him all the more likeable despite his surly and unfeeling manner. All have great dialogue to work with and each gets multiple chances to shine throughout the movie.

The final scene, back in the park with the boys, is a lovely reminder that kids are kids. Which makes the actions and behaviour of their parents all the more despicable. I guess this isn’t the most uplifting of films, but I was having too much fun to notice. And who’s to say we wouldn’t have behaved in a similar way? A sharp, short, beautifully acted piece of cinema.

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Alan: Morally you're supposed to overcome your impulses, but there are times you don't want to overcome them.