Release Date – 12/16/2011 (limited)
The parents of two young schoolmates meet up to discuss an altercation that took place between the children. The parents of the accused are very apologetic at first and the parents of the victim want some kind of closure. Heated debates rage on ranging from the school yard fight to work to something as silly as cigars and scotch. All of this takes place in real time in the victim’s parents’ lavish New York apartment. It’s a unique movie and acted well but it seems like it should have been an HBO special instead of a theater release. I couldn’t imagine it gaining much of an audience despite A-list actors and an infamous director being involved.
With only a short scene between the kids shown in the distance as the opening credits roll, the entire movie is just dialogue within an apartment between four people. No action or suspense. Just some interesting conversation. Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly play the parents of the kid who was beaten up, Penelope and Michael Longstreet. Foster plays a really stuck up and high strung woman who wears her heart on her sleeve. If she’s feeling something, she lets you know it. No holds barred. She gets very emotional as tempers flare. Reilly plays the happy-go-lucky husband who provides most of the comedic relief. He was probably my favorite character in the film because his jokes and little comments cracked me up. He does a complete 180 halfway through the movie when some booze is introduced. Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz play the parents of the kid who started the fight, Nancy and Alan Cowan. Winslet is very proper and keeps her comments to herself (again, until some booze is involved). Waltz is a lawyer who constantly takes phone calls from work and annoys everyone along the way. He did a terrible New York accent but had some funny moments along the way.
While it did keep my interest, it was probably because it was very short. I would have been disappointed to dish out 10 bucks to see a movie, barely over an hour, with not much of a plot. It was a good experiment in filmmaking but again, would have liked to see it as an hour long HBO special instead. Roman Polanski is better known these days for scandal instead of his movies, but he does a good job getting fine performances from his actors. Winslet, Foster, Waltz and Reilly all have some great acting chops anyway but putting them all together could have been overload. They actually have great chemistry together; it just wasn’t the most interesting film in the world. Its based on the play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Polanksi. You can DEFINITELY tell this was meant for the stage and not the big screen. Its unique and well acted but that’s about all it has going for it.
IMDB – 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 75%
Movie Wiseguys – 6.5/10