'Little Children'

This is my review of Little Children. **Warning, spoiler ahead**

When I left the movie, I was feeling slightly sick and was NOT pleased with the way I had spent my money for the evening. The movie is completely disturbing, and really upsetting in a lot of ways. After a while, I decided that meant that the director and actors did a fantastic job getting their message across because if they hadn't, it wouldn't have been so disturbing.

The basic story is of Sarah, a stay at home mom who used to study literature, and Brad, a stay at home dad whose wife is trying to get him pass the bar exam and finally start working as a lawyer. They meet at a playground, and through a series of meeting and getting to know each other, start an affair. Meanwhile, a man, Ronnie, arrested for indecent exposure to a minor moved back into their neighborhood to live with his mother. His storyline intersects with theirs, but everything hinges on the children.

For Sarah, it's when she finally realizes how much she cares about and loves her daughter, Lucy, and that changes her perspective. For Brad, it's finally feeling alive again after years of marking of time after his mother's death and during his marriage - he's also a dedicated father. For Ronnie, it's trying to manage his 'illness' - aka, the desire for a 10 year old 'girlfriend' - and the steps he takes to control it after his mother's untimely death. For Brad's friend, it's the 13 year old boy he accidentally shot while he was a police officer. For Kathy, Brad's wife, it's the little boy whose father was killed in Iraq and how he and his mother are now dealing with that.

The message of the story, as I saw it, was a combination of "suffer the little children" and "if anyone harms one of these little children, it would be better for him to have a millstone around his neck and then tossed into the sea." I'm also assuming this is where the name comes from. The theme seemed to be how we, as adults, have failed to protect the Little Children, and the price we pay for not doing so. However, the movie ended on a hopeful note and the narrator said that while we can't change the mistakes of the past, we have a choice in what we do in the future.

Overall, brilliant movie, good casting - Kate Winslet is fantastic, has a perfect American accent - and the movie set out to do what it set out to do. But if you do see it, don't buy the popcorn.