We Need to Talk About Kevin

[Angra]

We really do.

What the hell made him this... insane?

Is it really possible to be born that way? I highly doubt it.

[The Villain]

I really think it was the way his mother raised him. She was a terrible parent.

[fortunato]

What'd you think of the film? Worth watching?

[The Villain]

I thought it was great. I posted a review of it in the Last Seen Movie thread but i definitely recommend it.

[fortunato]

I thought it was great. I posted a review of it in the Last Seen Movie thread but i definitely recommend it.

Ah, sorry. I missed your review.
Definitely been keen on seeing this for a while. Can't wait to check it out.

[Angra]

I really think it was the way his mother raised him. She was a terrible parent.

You think so?

I thought she did a pretty decent job trying to raise such a difficult child practically on her own. Remember, he'd been horrible since birth with a hatred especially towards her to begin with. The movie didn't give me an explanation why.


And yes Fortunato, it's a quite good slowburner with terrefic acting.

[roshiq]

I thought she did a pretty decent job trying to raise such a difficult child practically on her own.


I think most of the 'decent jobs' she done for Kevin can be categorized as Material jobs, the jobs that can be done by anyone who does that as for a 'duty' or somewhat in a 'forced (or not) responsibility' point of view. First of all, IMO: she wasn't ready to become a mother as sometimes maternity viewed or treated as a scary thing for some people who think or find themselves in a time & position which isn't suitable or comfortable for them to raise a kid. Now, before blaming Kevin as an evil child I think after given the birth & becoming a 'mother', as a mother Eva failed to develop any emotional bond or connection with Kevin. As a baby when Kevin cries relentlessly we see there was clear irritation over the needed care from Eva. As kevin grows older day by day, he sees annoyance, frustration & fear towards him in Eva's eyes that though she was trying but couldn't hide from him. To some extent, as a kid Kevin responded in a way that HE thought her mother was expecting from him or may be to break the wall of a so called normal mother-son relationship or rips off the mask that Eva is wearing of a happy, regular mother.
Remember, there is only one point in the film where we saw Eva's frustration drives her to throw Kevin against the wall, breaking his arm and later at the end Kevin tells her that was the only honest thing she did with him.
The thing is as a kid anyone can be so vulnerable that a tiny little incident, action-reaction or behavior or comment can affect our mind so heavily that may left a lifelong impact on us.
The interesting thing is the cold & hateful mother-son relationship between Eva & Kevin doesn't affect Kevin's relationship with his father or may be he was just showing that off to Eva all the time.
Universally, spiritually or genetically, the most lovable & beautiful relationship in the world is a mother-son relationship. So how or at what point a mother can think something bad or hateful about her son or how someone whether as a kid or adult can think or do something hurtful to his/her mother? There are plenty of examples of hate & annoyance but the truth is undeniably a mother's love & affection for her child is so much incomparable, eternal & uniquely powerful that we won't find any single evidence of a human being who doesn't realize that power & affection or regret even for a moment for doing something better for his/her mother when they were close or alive after losing them forever.

Even with such a rare, strange & hateful story of a mother & son, WNTTAK comes with an amazing final revelation where both of them realizes that undeniable truth.

IMO, this is not just a story about a mother-son relationship, it's a fantastic character study of human psych & love. A very much needed watch for everyone.

[TheWickerFan]

It looks like a really good film, but very heartbreaking.

[The Villain]

I think most of the 'decent jobs' she done for Kevin can be categorized as Material jobs, the jobs that can be done by anyone who does that as for a 'duty' or somewhat in a 'forced (or not) responsibility' point of view. First of all, IMO:
...

IMO, this is not just a story about a mother-son relationship, it's a fantastic character study of human psych & love. A very much needed watch for everyone.

I was all set to respond to Angra's comment but really nothing more needs to be said. Nice job Roshiq.

[tommywikkid]

Been wanting to see this, where can you find it?

[Angra]

I think most of the 'decent jobs' she done for Kevin can be categorized as Material jobs, the jobs that can be done by anyone who does that as for a 'duty' or somewhat in a 'forced (or not) responsibility' point of view. First of all, IMO:
...

IMO, this is not just a story about a mother-son relationship, it's a fantastic character study of human psych & love. A very much needed watch for everyone.


But still.. that shouldn't make him a psycho. Maybe a little socially challenged, but that's it.

Already in a very young age he had psychotic behavior.

[Angra]

Oh, and another thing.

What was so amazing about the ending?? What was revealed there?

I personally got nothing out of their last conversation together. :o Just thought, "poor mommy. Is she going home to hang herself now"?

[The Villain]

Oh, and another thing.

What was so amazing about the ending?? What was revealed there?

I personally got nothing out of their last conversation together. :o Just thought, "poor mommy. Is she going home to hang herself now"?

Yeah the ending really wasnt anything exciting. For me the climax was

SPOILERS:"Seeing" him shooting all the people and the chaos at the school afterwards and Eva going home and seeing her husband and daughter dead.END OF SPOILERS

As for your other question. I don't think her treatment completely made him a psycho but more or less steered him in that direction. He probably had tendencies but might not have acted on them if not for her bad parenting. Thats what parents do, they shape their children into who they may become whether they know they're doing it or not.

[ChronoGrl]

Man. FINALLY saw this movie and I was more than impressed. I thought that some of the RED imagery (BLOOD ON HER HANDS) was a bit heavy-handed but not enough to turn me off (it turned off the fiance, though; he thought the movie was just OK).

But to the topic at hand - In my opinion, I thought that Kevin was a true bad seed and I found the movie absolutely terrifying. I disagree with Villain and Roshiq; I don't think that she was a terrible parent per se - I think that she tried, in his infancy to connect with him (man the scene where she was rolling the ball to him and he refused to roll it back - SO HEARTBREAKING) but he gave her nothing but hate.

Do I think that she gave up? Yes, I do. And the mini-golf scene is evidence of how she had absolutely given up on him especially in adolescence. And the scene where she breaks his arm - GOD - I sympathized with her but hated her at the same time.

I know I'm rambling a bit but I have to say that I really sympathized with Eva here, I really did. It's clear that eventually she just became complacent but I think that it was a byproduct of her despair in her inability to connect with her son, after trying (and I do think she tried).

But on the other side of things, I think that giving up wasn't the right thing to do, but I wonder - What the HELL would I do in this situation?

Maybe I'm coming at this as a woman who's thought about having kids - One of the things that terrifies me is What if my child hates me? - That probably sounds insane and I hate to play the gender card, but I wonder if that's why I sympathize with her so much; the idea of having a child who hates you is absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking to me. It truly is.

And to answer Angra's question - I think that he was a true Bad Seed. I do. But her eventual complacency and the husband's obtuseness to the situation clearly played into it. I mean, the movie is entitled We Need to Talk About Kevin, but they never truly talk about Kevin; Franklin dismisses Eva and that's that. I think that a lot of the movie is about complacency - Kevin has his diatribe on TV about people being complacent in terms of merits and success but they "pay attention" when horrible things happen.

As for the ending - I don't know; I hadn't really thought about it; I think that I was really just drained after seeing the pure hopelessness of Eva's situation and the guilt that she carries with her. I think that she's doing what she's done her whole life - Just trying to be there but making no difference.

I know that's not a great analysis, but I agree with Villain in terms of where the apex came.

All in all, I was truly impressed with this movie. I found it incredibly intense and melancholic and it definitely unnerved me. Brilliant film.

[The Villain]

Maybe I'm coming at this as a woman who's thought about having kids - One of the things that terrifies me is What if my child hates me? - That probably sounds insane and I hate to play the gender card, but I wonder if that's why I sympathize with her so much; the idea of having a child who hates you is absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking to me. It truly is.


I had the same fears before i had a child too. Kids never really took a liking to me so i thought the same would happen with my own. But my daughter lights up everytime she's around me and everytime i pick her up from her mother's she runs up to me excited to see me. Don't let your fears keeping you from having one of the greatest things in the world.

[ChronoGrl]

I wish you were here so I could hug you right now. That's probably the sweetest and most inspiring thing I've heard all day. :)

[The Villain]

I wish you were here so I could hug you right now. That's probably the sweetest and most inspiring thing I've heard all day. :)

:D

I'm glad i could inspire you and i know one day you will have kids and they'll love you and you'll be a great mom.

[SodaGirl]

I appreciate movies that really affect me... This one was so unsettling that I thought about it for 3 days straight. I loved it, but I never want to see it again.

I think Kevin's issues were the result of a nature and nurture perfect storm - a poorly raised bad seed.

[Dara]

Id harbor murderous thoughts towards my Mum if she had called me Kevin.What an evil bitch!

[The Walking Dread]

Been wanting to see this, where can you find it?


i got my copy at the library.

[The Walking Dread]

it was not a bad movie by any stretch. the kid must have had some kind of brain damage to be that evil, esp. at such a young age. either that or he was infested with demons. :eek:

[ChronoGrl]

yeah, parents looked pretty weird to me. all they cared about if their nutcase kid gets fed, shits where he supposed to, learn some numbers, and behave well. they never even tried to talk to poor bastard. another undiagnosed psycho, i don't think he had any idea why he's acting that way.

Chronogrl, at least you're givin it a thought. most people think child is something like a puppy or guini pig, just bold and bigger. "omg, i wanna baby, they'r so cute!!" fuckin morons.

I agree with you to some extent, but I honestly feel as though the mother tried to connect with him (God that depressing "rolling ball" scene!) but she eventually gave up because she was heart-broken... Do I think she gave up prematurely? Yes, absolutely, and I think that she was a removed, aloof, bitch... But part of me can't blame her... What a monster!

Re: Your second comment - Sadly I have a friend who's one of those "checklist" type people and I'm pretty sure just wants to have a baby for being pregnant (getting to eat whatever you want) and the baby shower. Even MORE sad is the fact that her husband has stated multiple times (even before the wedding) that he doesn't want kids... It's going to be a disaster if they ever spawn. *shudder*

I have probably thought about it WAY too much, and I'm not sure if I'd actually have my own ($$, the age of my partner, and my inherent desire to spend on vacations and eating out playing into my decision ;)) which, heh, to your point, poignantly reminds me of the opening to Idiocracy.

[Dara]

I said I didnt want kids when I was younger.I have three teenage sons now...*shudder* My very own daily horror story!.(atch,theyre lovely and I cant complain!!! I weaned them on a diet of Hammer and zombies,they turned out well even if I do say so myself.
I didnt call any 'Kevin' either.I think the shitness of his name definitely had a detrimental affect on his outlook on life .

[hammerfan]

I have three teenage sons now...

Honey, you don't look old enough to have three teenage sons! What, were you 12 when you started having babies?! :eek:

[Dara]

Honey, you don't look old enough to have three teenage sons! What, were you 12 when you started having babies?! :eek:
No !i was twenty three when i had my seventeen year old then was perpetually pregnant after then !
Im No countess Bathory !

[hammerfan]

No !i was twenty three when i had my seventeen year old then was perpetually pregnant after then !
Im No countess Bathory !

I still say you don't look old enough! :D

[Ferox13]

No !i was twenty three when i had my seventeen year old then was perpetually pregnant after then !
Im No countess Bathory !

Giving birth to them when they are 17 is a good idea and cuts out much of that baby poop and pee stage.