Review No.5: Carnage

The awards film continue now with one that has already seen its two lead actresses pick up Golden Globe nominations in the comedy character even though there aren't a lot of big laughs in Carnage. The story sees a boy named Zachary hit another boy Ethan with a stick knocking out two of his teeth and bringing together their two sets of parents for a meeting. The film then explores suburban politeness and moral responsibility as Ethan's parents Michael and Penelope, played by John C Reilly and Jodie Foster, invite Zachary's parents Nancy and Alan who are played by Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz around to sort out the situation. At first everybody is all smiles with coffee and cake being passed around but soon things get heated after Nancy suffers a migraine and vomits all over Penelope's priceless art books. The humour arises from little recurring sequences such as Alan constantly recieving phone-calls about a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company that he represents and a drug that Michael's mother just happens to be on. The final scenes are the most hilarious as both couples start to get drunk we see the resentment between the women and their partners and finally we see the massive blow-up followed by the ultimate scene involving the two boys.

Carnage is an odd film partly because it is directed by Roman Polanski not someone particularly known for his comic output and also because of its awkward nature. I feel I didn't find it as funny as other people who were watching it although towards the end I did find myself start to giggle as the social barriers finally got broken down due to the excessive amount of alcohol that was being consumed. It definitely explores some interesting themes but at the end of the day there's no getting away from the fact that it started life as a play and for the most part is just four very accomplished actors sitting in a room discussing African culture and Cobbler recipes. The film's biggest strength is the four actors who all give it their all, Reilly was a brilliant choice as he's someone who excels at both comedy and drama while Carnage also sees Waltz's least sinister role yet and he also displays a very dry wit. Kate Winslet seems to be continuing the theme of being the ill one after her role in Contagion however it is Jodie Foster who is the standout here as I feel its been ages since I've seen her in a film that isn't a thriller and Penelope is possibly the most multi-layered of the four characters. This definitely had its moments and the final build-up was excellent even if what had come before wasn't always spectacular.

Verdict: A well made adaptation of a play with four sparkling performances but one which relies purely on a script and not a lot else so it gets 7/10