Most of us were taught to be suspicious of mean people, but personally I find that it is nice people that I don’t trust. Their acts of charity are really debts that they’ll make you repay with interest; their compliments are merely a ploy to get you to acknowledge their superiority and thank them for judging you; and all the while their smiling faces hide their true intentions. What are you hiding, nice people, that could possibly require you to utilize so many deceptive techniques with such regularity?
The characters in Roman Polanski’s Carnage start out presenting their better angels. They are civilized, sensible and smiling. Before long, however, they turn into characters that I actually like! Christoph Waltz is the first truth-teller of the group. Initially pegged as the parent who is never present because he is always on his cell phone, he soon points out that it is the others who are actually distancing themselves from the situation through their false pleasantries. Kate Winslet plays his wife, a woman who tries so hard to make everyone happy that she makes me sick, and as luck would have it she ends up making herself sick too! Opposite them is John C. Reilly, dressed in his best sweater and making mindless small talk about flowers and cobbler, and Jodie Foster, who gets what she deserves as her insistence that people should be nice backfires horribly.
I rather enjoyed this film’s biting portrayal of our true psychological states, and the way that both the screenplay and the actors slowly peeled back the illusions of societal decency. My only complaint is that the film ended too abruptly for me. I wasn’t expecting a resolution or happy ending, mind you, but it would have been nice to see someone storm out or otherwise make clear that the conversation was over. Then again, if it had such a tidy and “nice” ending, I probably wouldn’t have trusted it!
Oscar Chances:
Although the film did not get any love from the Academy, it did receive Golden Globe nominations for Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet, and won France’s Cesar award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
As always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!
My Lamb Score: 3 ½ out of 5 Lambs
What is a lamb score? Click HERE to learn more.
Read recent reviews HERE, or search the Archives.
.
I actually didn't mind the abrupt ending, but I was hoping for it to get really ugly and messy, for the film to live up to it's name.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I found it to be really funny and enjoyed the acting and dialogue, but it almost felt like Carnage-lite. A polite, bourgeois version of the real thing... Then again, now that I think about it, that kind of fits in perfectly! Still, I was waiting for something more explosive at the end.
DeleteI laughed my ass off for the last 20 minutes. Was a bit of an abrupt ending though! Perfect performances from all four! Am I being too nice?
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete. It is quite funny when they really let loose in the last quarter of the film. It is possible that I just wanted more.
DeleteI did not enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed your review. You are right about the way the characters have shown their real sides and that was what made them truly interesting. The performances were really good and I loved every single one of them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I really did not see the point of making this play into a movie if Polanski didn't really use the advantages of the media he used (film). To me, Carnage was too theatrical for cinema and the directing was simply lazy. That made the film average in my eyes.
Great review!
That's my goal--To make my reviews even better than the movies!
DeleteI unfortunately don't get to go to plays as much as I might like, and I tend to like films that focus on acting and dialogue. But I definitely can understand how someone who takes a more visual approach to movies would be really disappointed in this one. I did notice that there was something they did with changing the tint of the camera color between acts, but other than that I really didn't notice any cinematic flourishes.
Great review, I completely agree about the ending, it was just too sudden and weak. The whole movie seemed to be going somewhere and then it didn't, it just ended.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought there might be a crescendo or something to the big finale, but I left the theater wondering why the film ended where it did, instead of 5 to 10 minutes earlier or 5 to 10 minutes later.
DeleteNice review Ntemp. oops sorry that was probably too nice. I meant you review is prentious B.S. Nah, I'm glad you liked it. Christoph Waltz in my opinion was the funniest but the whole cast was very good.
ReplyDeleteYou should have stuck with the pretentious B.S. line, I would have trusted you more! Yeah, for me Waltz and Winslet were the couple that I enjoyed more, although I did wonder how either couple ended up together to begin with!
DeleteI too thought the ending was very weak and disappointing. The whole movie was great, especially Winslet and Foster and Waltz was amazingly funny. Desplat music was very good - that opening scene would miss so much without it. Good review.
ReplyDeleteHow did I forget to mention the Desplat score? You're right that it really set the tone well in that opening section.
DeleteWow, great review. Loved your intro - that's so true! I think we often mistrust the wrong kind of people. But perhaps not trusting people is really just insecurity? :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds fascinating. It's been on my must watch list for a while, but I haven't take the time to see it. I really do look forward to it though! Enjoyed reading this.
Thanks Kristin. I find it best not to trust anyone at all, but the nice folks really trouble me. Hahaha!
DeleteHope you get a chance to see this soon.
Just watched it last night! Loved it, and I think giving it 3 1/2 out of 5 makes a lot of sense. I think the screenplay adaptation to film was exceptional. Definitely an interesting film to really think about from a psychological perspective in terms of the characters.
DeleteIt's funny, because I actually enjoyed Christoph Waltz's performance better than the two females (who I thought were both great too) and almost wish he would have gotten a Golden Globe nomination instead. Oh well.
Glad you liked it Kristin. I have two theories on why Waltz may have been left out of the Golden Globes. If I'm being generous, then I could maybe say that the male comedy category might have been a little more competitive this year. If I'm not being generous, then I would say that the Globes often goes for the bigger stars, thus explaining their choice of Winslet and Foster over Waltz.
DeleteInteresting intro, though I've met a lot of genuinely nice people that I don't automatically think the worst of them :D
ReplyDeleteI love the cast here and surely Christoph's talent is utilized better than the movie I saw him in this weekend, ahah. I'll be sure to rent this when it's available.
Ah, Ruth, those nice people you're meeting are just waiting to pounce all at once. So stay alert! Hahaha.
DeleteI'm mostly happy that Waltz got to play a part that wasn't the villain. He's not exactly an angel in this one either, but at least he's not playing the moustache-twirling type.
Ahaha don't be nice to Never, he will become suspicious of your good intentions! Haven't seen this but the premise sounds like it's right up my alley. I will keep an eye on the ending though. Hopefully, I will like that better :)
ReplyDelete...And I wonder why I'm always the one sitting alone at all the parties? Hahaha! I do think you might like this one. It's got just enough bite to it to make it enjoyable. Just a bunch of people being nasty to each other and chewing the scenery.
DeleteGreat review! Have yet to see the film, but was lucky enough to see the stage production in NYC a few years ago. Hoping to watch it soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous, as I hear that the stage production was excellent. It does seem like the type of material that would get even better with actors who have gone deeper into these characters night after night.
DeleteYour initial paragraph on human nature cracked me up. As an east coast transplant to the west coast I have often thought something similar.
ReplyDeleteI am going to try and check this out when its available via streaming. Nice post
It's really true that different regions of the country (and the world, of course) do seem to have completely different strategies for these types of things. I grew up in the Midwest and have been on the West Coast for several years now, and I'm always surprised when I go back to visit and realize that my own personality even changes in the two contexts.
DeleteNice review. I'm with you on the ending. I suppose it worked in the context of the film, but it was rather abrupt and left me wanting more. The movie was pretty much a non-stop riot once that bottle of scotch was brought out, though!
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's what really went wrong with the ending: They ran out of scotch!
Delete