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Little Children

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Little Children (2006)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:121

Rotten:31

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Little Children takes a penetrating look at suburbia and its flawed individuals with an unflinching yet humane eye.

Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $5,307,219

Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern... Actor-turned-director Todd Field follows up his Oscar-nominated drama, IN THE BEDROOM, with this ambitious adaptation of Tom Perrotta's celebrated novel. Set in the imploding minefields of modern suburbia, LITTLE CHILDREN follows several inhabitants of a small American town as they fumble their way through adulthood. Numb-to-life housewife and mother Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) finds an outlet for her yearning in gorgeous househusband Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson), who is crippled with insecurity over the fact that his perfect wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), is the family breadwinner. When Sarah and Brad meet at the local playground one afternoon, a passionate affair is sparked. In a further attempt to reclaim his youthful fire, Brad joins a night football league with Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a former cop who has begun to harass a convicted sex offender, Ronnie J. McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley). These troubled lives eventually collide, causing each individual to take full responsibility for their not-so-responsible actions. Adapted for the screen by Field and Perrotta and artfully photographed by Antonio Calvache, LITTLE CHILDREN is a bitingly funny, and nakedly honest, critique of middle class dysfunction. Though the cast is universally superb, it is former child actor Haley (THE BAD NEWS BEARS, BREAKING AWAY) who steals the show. After only two features, Field proves that he is a truly gifted storyteller. This film was included in the 44th New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Jane Adams, Phyllis Somerville, Sarah Buxton

Director: Todd Field

Director: Todd Field
Producer: Albert Berger
Composer: Thomas Newman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Little Children

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
4/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 14 2007 03:28 AM

In Film Australia

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2007 03:16 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato

Urban Cinefile Critics

The complexity of the relationships is meticulously portrayed, although at times overly earnest. Nonetheless, it's a powerful piece of cinema and one that reverberates and impacts by its themes.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 01 2007 10:04 PM

Urban Cinefile

splat

Fernando F. Croce

Its antiseptic textures merely whimper 'Oscar clip'

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 28 2009 11:03 AM

CinePassion

splat
D

Cole Smithey

Bereft of a protagonist, the movie breaks down under the weight of absurd voice-over narration and an exploitative ending that is as indefensibly wrongheaded as it is cheap.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 24 2009 06:19 PM

ColeSmithey.com

N/R

Bob Mondello

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 06:08 AM

NPR.org

splat
2/5

Jonathan Kiefer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:16 AM

Sacramento News & Review

tomato
4.5/5

Geoff Berkshire

A risky and rewarding art film, but definitely for grown-ups.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2008 03:15 AM

Metromix.com

tomato
6/10

Brandon Fibbs

Little Children is about as close as a movie can get to literature %u2014 rich, nuanced, erudite and multi-layered.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 28 2008 01:47 PM

BrandonFibbs.com

tomato
4.5/5

Karina Montgomery

The leads are self-delusional, secretive, dependent, nakedly desperate at times, and all fascinating.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 10 2007 08:28 PM

Cinerina

splat
2/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 05:21 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

tomato
3/4

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Provides a taut commentary on hypocrisy, human interaction, and the lies we tell ourselves...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 11 2007 02:48 AM

Cinema Crazed

tomato
7/10

Dragan Antulov

predstavlja upravo ono %u0161to bi "ozbiljni" holivudski film trebao biti

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 22 2007 05:33 AM

Index.hr

splat
1/4

Kam Williams

Peyton Place with a perv!

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | May., 02 2007 05:57 AM

EURWeb

splat
6/10

John J. Puccio

...a flawed work that sparkles only sporadically.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 20 2007 11:40 AM

DVDTown.com

tomato

Michael Wade Simpson

The success Fields has with this film comes through the uncomfortable intersection between comedy, melodrama and tragedy. Oh, and romance.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 03 2007 04:05 PM

culturevulture.net

tomato

Mark Palermo

Little Children's stone-cold suburbia reaches for Kubrick, but is also half Spielberg.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Mar., 15 2007 09:30 AM

Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

tomato
4/5

Enrique Buchichio

Un drama inteligente, tenso y reflexivo sobre la insatisfacción, el deseo, la infidelidad y las perversiones de un puñado de habitantes suburbanos. Excelente dirección y elenco.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 14 2007 07:22 PM

Uruguay Total

tomato

Lewis Beale

Field directs all this with a restraint that sometimes verges on the dry, but there's little doubt the film builds to a shattering climax.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:43 AM

Film Journal International

splat
2.5/5

James Kendrick

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 10 2007 04:53 AM

Q Network Film Desk

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Little Children

July 23, 2007: Jackie Earle Haley, More Confirmed for Watchmen Cast
Expect to see a whole lot of "Watchmen" updates over the next several months. And here's one: Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, and Malin Akerman have signed deals to appear in... More...

June 18, 2007: Patrick Wilson (Pretty Much) Confirmed for "Watchmen"
He did great work in both "Hard Candy" and "Little Children," so now it might be time for Patrick Wilson's shot at the comic book material. More...

January 30, 2007: SAG Award Winners Revealed, Oscar Predicting Hits Full Steam
Known as a big predictor of what'll go down Oscar night, the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony took place last Sunday to a rapturous Hollywood crowd without a hitch (or... More...

January 23, 2007: Oscar Nominations Announced: "Little Miss Sunshine," "Dreamgirls," "Borat" Deemed Worthy
The expected heavy hitters made the grade -- Scorsese, Whitaker, "Dreamgirls" -- but there were a handful of surprises...let's just say, if you thought you'd never... More...

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