Title: Little Children
Director: Todd Field
Producer: Todd Field
Written By: Tom Perrotta (novel and screenplay), Todd Field (screenplay)
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich, Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville
Distributed By: New Line Cinema
Release Year: 2006
Based off of the 2004 novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, the story revolves around the lives of a group of people who live in the same suburban town.
Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is having trouble in her life, unable to feel comfortable and happy with the life that she lives. She can't help but feel that her daughter is a real nuisance for her, and her husband is too busy enjoying a sexual obsession with some strange woman online who posts up pictures of herself on a website, surrounded by nude men and getting off with kitchen items (very memorable scene involved here). Meanwhile, Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson), a stay-at-home dad, feels as if there is something missing in his life, that special something that makes one feel alive. Most people would think he has it all: a beautiful wife (Jennifer Connelly) with whom he had a son that he is able to spend a lot of his time with, a "homey-home" in a nice suburban neighborhood, the ability to become a lawyer if he can just pass the bar exam... all this he has, but all of it does not add up to enough in his world. Sarah and Brad meet each other (an interesting first-time meeting, for sure) and begin to have daily meetings at the local public pool, where not only they begin to get well-acquainted, but also their children. A steamy love affair soon blossoms, and they both begin to embrace this fantasy world where their relationship can go on forever.
The subplot focuses in on the lives of Ronnie J. McGorvery (Jackie Earl Halley), May McGorvey (Phyllis Somerville), and Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich). Ronnie has just been released paroled from prison, after serving a two-year sentence for indecent exposure to a minor. He moves back into the neighborhood to once again live with his mother, May. Ronnie has a very close relationship with his mother, feeling that she is the only person who truly loves him. May wants to try to put Ronnie back on track, convincing him to agree to an ad in the paper in order to find him a date with a woman. Even with May's efforts, it is nearly impossible for Ronnie to try and lead a normal life. The number one reason for that is Larry Hedges. Larry is an ex-cop who is in denial about being taken off the force over an incident that he was involved in. To feel as if he is still doing the job that he loved so much, he starts a committee made up of parents to create awareness about Ronnie. Although this sounds like a responsible thing for a father of twins to do, Larry does not go about the whole thing with any sense of maturity; instead, he harasses the McGorverys to an extreme extent (I'll leave it to you to find out examples of this harassment).
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I've watched this film three different times now, and each time I do, I feel as if I am being given a very important lesson on what it means to be human. The themes that are explored are so vital to what it means to live a life with proper decency, it would be hard for me to believe that anyone could watch this film and not feel refreshed afterwards. It just resonates with me so much. If I were to choose one aspect of the film that hits me the hardest, it would have to be everything that happens in Ronnie's story. Whenever I speak to anyone about Little Children, I always talk about the film's ability to bring forth sympathy for Ronnie. The first time I ever saw the public pool scene that he is involved in, I was left with my mouth dropped. You cannot help but feel bad for him, being outcasted like that. The thing is, it makes you think to yourself, "Alright, maybe he brought everything upon himself, but does that mean that he shouldn't be given a second chance? isn't it possible that he is trying to change his ways?" The audience is actually forced to think about this moral issue, and that is what makes this film so damn important for everybody to see. It has the ability to smack you across the face with something that you might rather leave untouched, but in the end you have no choice but to question yourself.
Then there's all the questions that arise from Sarah and Brad's situation. On the one hand, you have Sarah, who's marriage is obviously falling apart. I think it is safe to say that the majority of viewers will feel that she is justified in getting involved with Brad. On the other hand, there will definitely be a split between the audience in regards to whether Brad's decision to get involved with Sarah is justified. He has a family that he is responsible for, and a loving and caring family at that. A lot of the times, the things that his wife does gets to him, and he feels that they are not on the same level. He seems to having what would be called a "beginning-life-crisis", feeling as if his life is becoming too mundane. This is something that many people would debate. If Brad feels that he is not enjoying the way his life is going, shouldn't he have the freedom to leave that life and start a new one? Some might feel that way, but just as many people (and probably tons more) will feel that Brad has responsibilities that he committed himself to, and it is not right for him to abandon them, especially when they will hurt people who are so close to him.
Little Children puts the spotlight on these issues, as well as others that are just as important. All the actors portray Perrotta's characters amazingly. Most importantly, there are a lot of messages in the film. Personally, I feel it will be difficult for any one viewer to refuse to accept these messages, and that makes this one special.
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