Carnage

A film version of a play called God of Carnage, this is about two dysfunctional couples who meet because their sons had an altercation in a park.

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You’d think that if you put three Academy-award-winning actors in a room with a script, you’d get a classic out of the film. This is not a classic.

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Some of the ways people act in this aren’t at all believable (like the taking of phone calls, full voice, in the same room as other people who are trying to talk about important topics - that just wouldn't happen). And the way the relationship dynamics only ratchets up and up, without the needed quiet moments to off-set the screaming and tension shows that the direction isn't nuanced and the script isn't balanced.

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For example, Kate Winslet’s character changes dramatically after she suddenly feels nauseous and throws up. And Jodie Foster’s character goes from conciliatory and refined to maniacally screaming after a single shot of liquor.

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It’s just so over-the-top and unrealistic (unlike The Invite, which is also about the relationship dynamics) the viewer is unable to suspend disbelief.

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Further, the casting choices are safe and don’t challenge the viewer at all. Kate Winslet is a rich lady, Christopher Walz is a self-centered a-hole, John C. Reilly is a lower-middle-class fixture salesman who married up, and Jodie Foster is an art-book-loving white lady concerned with the civil rights of Africans. Each of them do an exemplary job with their roles, but the casting is so spot-on that it’s a bit boring.

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