School shootings have become a sad fact of American life. What could bring a teenager — a child — to commit such a terrible act of rage? To kill any number of his teachers and fellow students? The students involved often kill themselves. But even when they don’t, answers aren’t forthcoming. Who can explain a human being doing something so inhumane?
Lionel Shriver’s 2003 novel “We Need to Talk About Kevin” offered one scenario: It focused on the mother of a teenager who went on a rampage. She felt like her child came out of the womb a villain. But Shriver also suggested that the mother’s mixed feelings about having a child might have had something to do with the murderer he became — a controversial theory, to say the least.
The film adaptation of “We Need to Talk About Kevin” doesn’t make the subject any clearer. With a regularly shaky camera, and a story told in flashbacks, director and co-writer Lynne Ramsay doesn’t want to make the inexplicable make sense. She doesn’t even seem to want her viewers to follow along as a mother must come to grips with the only thing perhaps worse than the death of a child — multiple murders by a child.
British actress Tilda Swinton is, as always, stunning on screen. She can capture any emotion you can throw at her. But her character is strangely hollow in most of the post-murder scenes. It’s hard to blame her: She can’t even walk down the street without risking getting slapped in the face by another mother. Everyone blames her for her son’s breakdown.
The 2010 film “Beautiful Boy” dealt with some of the same material — Michael Sheen and Maria Bello played the parents of a killer teen — but with more authenticity, intelligence and feeling. “We Need to Talk About Kevin” feels like a daring art installation, filled with the obvious color red as a metaphor. But it should have been more than a metaphor — it should have been about life and the awful ways it can end.
On screen
‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’
1.5 out of 4 stars
Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Rated: R for disturbing violence and behavior, some sexuality and language
Running time: 112 minutes
