A mother is barely treading water and leading a dismal existence following the unspeakable massacre committed by her son. In flashback, we see the strained relationship between the two and the innate evil that leads him towards the unfortunate incident. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is unlike any film I have ever seen before. Instead of using plot or dialogue, director Lynne Ramsay propels her disturbing film along with stark and mostly unpleasant imagery, which is done so quite engagingly. In the leading role, Tilda Swinton turns in her usual stunning performance as a mother who can't even begin to fathom what went wrong with her son, and her scenes taking place following the tragedy are quite remarkable. An issue I had with the film is the decision to make the boy so ludicrously evil, and once we reach a certain point in the film, we are no longer getting anything new out of it, but rather witnessing the cruel acts of a psychopath. It is at this point we are watching a "horror" movie and no longer a horrific, realistic, and insightful nightmare.
