We Need to Talk about Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin

I will never look at the color red in the same way again. The film begins with Eva, a
travel writer, enjoying herself at the festival in Spain where everyone gets immersed in
throwing tomatoes. That was a positive experience.
Later in her traumatic life she is photographed in front of a shelf of cans of tomato soup.
Her psychotic son loves to smother red gooey jam on bread and look at it oozing out of
the sandwich. Neighbors rebel against Kevin and spray red paint on the family house. As
you watch each symbolic red jesture you begin to prepare yourself fro something sinister.
I found this to be one of the most painful films I have ever seen.
Eva marries the gentle Franklin and they have a son Kevin. Right from the beginning
Kevin gave them problems. He cried incessantly. He was still not toilet trained as a
young boy. He was angry and surly to his mother. He was always sweet to his father.
At an early age a doctor told Eva that Kevin was a sweet boy and not to worry. It is so
obvious to the audience that this boy is in serious trouble.. You have to question why Eva
accepted so much abuse from Kevin and didn’t take him for psychiatric help. He was
not a sweet boy. I was the audience and I was terrified with each scene that he would do
something horrific. And of course he does.
Throughout the film Eva looks like she has lost her best friend. She doesn’t smile. She
wears no makeup and even her walk suggests someone carrying a heavy burden. We do
see her with makeup and a smile on 2 occasions. Her doer look is almost overdone. It
becomes unbearable. Is this great acting or too much?
Kevin is played by three actors at various stages of is life. As a teenager we see a brilliant
performance by Ezra Miller. He is amazing.
I was so pleased I attended this film with a friend because we needed to discuss it on
many levels after viewing this upsetting story..
Did Eva really dislike her son and was he reacting to her feelings? How could the father
not see what was happening in the family? Why did the parents accept such verbal abuse
from Kevin?
You will need to discuss the film to get it out of your system. It is upsetting. The drama
builds and you are sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for a disaster to happen.