Author: Anne McCormick
Date: 4 July 2020
Film Carnage, 2011
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Jodie Foster (Nancy Cowan), John C. Reilly (Alan Cowan), Kate Winslet (Penelope Longstreet), Christoph Waltz (Michael Longstreet)
Production: France, Germany, Poland, Spain
The film is based on the play "Le Dieu du carnage" by Yasmina Reza, France.
4/5
The film Carnage was based on the play. It looks a lot like a theatrical performance, and the plot takes place in an apartment. This is not an action film; it is, instead, a psychological film, a tragicomedy. Only four actors starred in the movie. But I am sure you have heard of them! Oscar-winning Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz. For the sake of such a stellar cast, it's worth watching this film. By the way, the film's budget is also impressive - $ 25 million. The movie was filmed by director Roman Polanski, who is always in the center of scandals. Therefore, my expectations for the film were the highest.
I want to say that the film does not have any surprises - just a few people interacting with each other in the same apartment for an hour or two. We can see their faces in the beginning. By the end of the film, we can finally get to the bottom of their essence. I was interested in this plot, since I am also a parent, and I had to interact with other parents. We did not sit in the same apartment, but our communication in the WhatsApp group chats was enough.
Let's get back to the plot. A boy named Ethan Longstreet beats another boy named Zachary Cowan. As we see at the beginning of the film, it is not clear that Ethan is guilty. But Zachary Cowan gets a stick hit from Ethan and loses two teeth. Ethan's parents come home to Cowan's parents to express regret and talk. And everything looks very decent, but if you are not distracted only by endless negotiations over the telephone of Ethan's father.
Here is a short description of the main characters at the beginning of the film. On the one hand, we have a family of the injured boy called Zachary. This is a family with left-wing convictions. They are intellectuals, with the father as a plumber seller, and the mother as an art critic. The house contains all the petty-bourgeois household items, books on the art of the Impressionists, paintings hung on the walls, fresh flowers in vases. The parents of the injured boy look friendly, understanding, and even worried about another boy's behaviour.
On the other hand, is the family of the boy called Ethan. They came to the house where the plot of the film unfolds. They are the embodiment of an upper-middle-class family. Ethan's father, a lawyer, is always busy, speaking on the phone, solving some issues. We see that his clients are scammers, which makes us understand the lawyer himself is not very honest. Ethan's mother, a financial adviser, behaves with poorly disguised disdain, but still makes an effort to look at least somewhat interested in communication.
In general, at the beginning of the film, everything looks decent. Although the heroes feel hostile, they evaluate the role of their children in the conflict. All in all, this is still a good situation. And in the ideal world, the heroes should quickly part, go to the clinic about the insured event, and not go deep into this most trivial life situation. But then there would be nothing to make the film about.
Ethan's family somehow stays in Zachary's family's house. An apple-pear cake appears, which reveals to us the complexes of the hostess of the house. Although she worries about all the peoples of Africa, she is still vicious, stupid, weak, and an alcoholic. When 18-year-old whiskey appears on the table after the pie, it is time for other characters to show their true selves.
The sweet lump, plumber Alan, turns out to be a hamster-hating tyrant who can't say no to his wife.
Penelope Longstreet, a broker, a lady with glam, becomes chaos after drinking some whiskey.
And only her husband, the lawyer, does not change throughout the movie. He is always unpleasant.
From the drunk whiskey, our quartet begins to fight with one another, choosing their opponents with any signs. Intrafamilial contradictions and problems of both pairs are revealed. Director Roman Polanski seems to be laughing at these people. Penelope's financial manager pours a fountain of vomit right on the Impressionist excellent books.
The film turned out to be fiery, watch it, and see how typical bourgeois families look from the side.
Josie Rourke
Roman Polanski
Michael Gracey
John Hughes
Dan Scanlon
Stanley Kubrick