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Steven Dempsey

Little Children - A film by Todd Field	0votes
November 13, 2008 02:40 PM	Views: 353 Favorited: 0 Comments: 0

	Filed Under: Film review
Tags: Film review, Little Children

Little Children is a modern day masterpiece. It’s rare to see this caliber of filmmaking these days. It exists, for sure, but you really have to seek it out.

I am not ashamed to say that one of the things that draws me to a film is the cinematography, sometimes even more so than the story itself. My visceral reaction to watching a film shot by a top notch DP is akin to getting high on some illegal substance. Given that Todd Field’s last effort, the brilliant and memorable “In the Bedroom” remains on my top five list, I was eager to see his latest contribution. I thought that it would be near impossible to duplicate that success but I was wrong.

The little children of the title refers to the adult characters in this film. The action centers around a vibrant woman who has grown weary of her marriage to her workaholic/sex addict husband. She puts her energy into motherhood but falls for a father (Patrick Wilson) who appears at the park she visits each day. He is equally disillusioned with his marriage and is seeking escapism.

There are other major characters in this story including a cop who accidentally killed a young boy in the line of duty and whose personal mission it is to terrorize a recently-paroled sex offender (a fantastic performance by Jackie Earle Haley) who has moved back in with his mother.

There are a few cinematographers I deeply admire, particularly Nestor Almendros, but I have to say that Antonio Calvache comes close with his superb and perfect compositions and use of light. This film is nothing short of a joy to watch. I believe that one could completely understand this very complex story by visuals alone. It’s almost as if Calvache has reached into the very minds of his characters and found a way to show what it looks like. The intimacy he portrays of each key player paints a canvas of thick oils and color that make it feel like reading a book rather than watching a film.

Little Children is not for the faint of heart. It is lined with some pretty graphic sexual content and themes that are decidedly only for mature audiences. Watch this one after your little children are asleep.