Carnage (Roman Polanski, 2011): French / German / Poland

Reviewed by Li Peyron. Viewed at the AFI Fest 2011.

Carnage. I think that it was a different film, because it was only shot in one set. First I just thought it was an extremely long scene, but then when the movie ended and they still were in the living room I thought it was a little bit weird. But, I do think it was a good movie, so I would recommend people to see it. Why do I think it was good? Because of the acting. This is a comedy that makes you laugh. The whole story is just so ridiculous that you cant help but to laugh.

When I saw this movie at the AFI Fest the director(Roman Polanski) himself introduced the movie along with the two men actors(John C. Reilly and Christian Waltz) of the movie.

So the whole movie is about four parents arguing about their sons. Their sons got in a fight and now they are trying to figure out a way to settle it between the boys. This just makes things complicated for the parents who are extremely different. It all begins with the two parents of the kid (Ethan) who hit the other kid, they are invited over to the other two parents to discuss how to persue from here. The situation gets real heated and the arguing begins. The four parents starts to blame one an other for the fight. Saying its their fault that their son was hit in the face.

The one thing that is significant in this film is how different the two parent couples are. The mother of the son who got smacked in the face is a real control freak, thinking that she is the one thats right ALL THE TIME. Her husband is way more laid-back, almost like he doesn’t care too much. The mother of Ethan, the boy who hit the other boy, is trying to smooth things over by saying that they should all forgive each other and move on. After a few attempt to leave, the parents of Ethan, find themselves almost stuck in the apartment by the other two telling them to stay for a coffee. Then it all just gets out of hand, people getting drunk, screaming at each other and so on.

It was a movie with a twist I guess. If you’re looking for a great laugh I think you should go see this film. But if you are in the mood for something serious and something meaningful this is not it. I couldn’t help but to think that maybe this movie was a little bit unnecessary. What was the point? I don’t really don’t know. It was a great cast and the settings were perfect, but the whole story just seemed kind of odd. They were not getting anywhere with it.