We Need to Talk About Kevin

R

Now Playing

1 hr. 51 min.

Drama

List

75%

211 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) is a travel writer/publisher who gives up her beloved freedom and bohemian lifestyle to have a child with her husband, Franklin (John C. Reilly). Pregnancy does not seem to agree with Eva, but what's worse, when she does give birth to a baby boy named Kevin, she can't seem to bond with him. When Kevin grows from a fussy, demanding toddler (Rocky Duer) into a sociopathic teen (Ezra Miller), Eva is forced to deal with the aftermath of her son's horrific act.

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Critics Consensus

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a masterful blend of drama and horror, with fantastic performances across the board (Tilda Swinton especially, delivering one of her very best).

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Matt M

Engaging take on psychopathy and a raw ending. Wasn't quite 'my thing' but I appreciate it for what it is.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Peter G

Director Lynne Ramsay has made a devastating & indeed horrifying portrait of parental denial & what it leads to. One has to use their imagination to try & understand how teenage Kevin became the monster that he is but what is clear is that all the variety of warning signs from his very early childhood have not been dealt with & no punches are pulled as to the resulting consequences. I have seen several films concerning disturbed children & some, like PELICAN BLOOD fall apart, for me, when shifting to a rather sudden supernatural explanation. Ramsay's film is all the more powerful for focusing on effects rather than possible causes for its teenagers abominable behavior. Tilda Swinton scores another bulls eye performance of a mother who has gradually become aware of something not right about her son but seems, initially, unable to deal with or understand what is happening. The boy‘s obtuse father, played superbly by John C. Reilly, is no help whatsoever & the very much younger daughter has no comprehension whatsoever. This all sounds like an unlikely premise, however, the actors make it all crushingly believable. Not since Tim Roth‘s awesome THE WAR ZONE (also featuring Swinton) has a familial tragedy been represented more vividly. Uncompromising in its presentation Ramsay‘s film has remained one of the most grim & unsettling films I have yet to see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Green C

The actors who played Kevin are amazing. Although you could see what was coming a mile away, it was mesmerizing to watch it unfold.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/24

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Erin H

Even years later, this movie really sticks with me. It haunts me in a way not many movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/13/23

Full Review

Kathryn V

It took me 4 times watching this to finally get it. First time, I certainly got the plot, but it kept jumping back and forth to different time frames. Tilda Swinton, would have long hair, then she would have short hair, then next scene long hair. Great acting by all.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Characters were very shallow with absolutely no depth!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/11/23

Full Review

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Lynne Ramsay

Director

Tilda Swinton

Eva

John C. Reilly

Franklin

Ezra Miller

Kevin (Teenager)

Jasper Newell

Kevin (6-8 Years)

Rocky Duer

Kevin (Toddler)

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

It may be one of those pesky films that is awful to watch but is worth watching all the same. Oh, dear.

Aug 31, 2018

Full Review

David Thomson

The New Republic

It becomes a film about her [Swinton] scattered mind. That produces wonders from Swinton, but it ignores the plea in the title. What about Kevin? Kevin deserves so much more attention-indeed, he deserves being played by Tilda Swinton.

Jun 19, 2013

Full Review

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Fragmented, dreamlike, a whir of memories and misery, We Need to Talk About Kevin is unsettling, but also somehow unnecessary.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 9, 2012

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Ramsay’s film uses evocative imagery and a non-linear narrative structure to create a stunningly observed series of disturbing scenes, which, as the viewer pieces them together, become so filled with dread that we squirm with unease.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 4, 2022

Full Review

Juan Pablo Russo

EscribiendoCine

Without judgment, righteousness, or hopeful messages, it tells us the B side of a tragedy, the underside no one knows, but everyone opines on. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 10/10

Sep 6, 2022

Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

A tour-de-force for Swinton who suffers through every scene and also, for the spectator... [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) is a travel writer/publisher who gives up her beloved freedom and bohemian lifestyle to have a child with her husband, Franklin (John C. Reilly). Pregnancy does not seem to agree with Eva, but what's worse, when she does give birth to a baby boy named Kevin, she can't seem to bond with him. When Kevin grows from a fussy, demanding toddler (Rocky Duer) into a sociopathic teen (Ezra Miller), Eva is forced to deal with the aftermath of her son's horrific act.

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Executive Producer: Steven Soderbergh, Christine Langan, Paula Jalfon, Christopher Figg, Robert Whitehouse, Michael Robinson, Andrew Orr, Norman Merry, Lisa Lambert, Lynne Ramsay, Tilda Swinton
Screenwriter: Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear
Distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co: BBC Films, UK Film Council
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Violence/Behavior|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 14, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $487.1K

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