Carnage (2011)

• 
  
  May 24, 2012

  fb619846742

  A dialogue-driven bash in the face of parenthood and the facade of interacting with other parents, especially when it is due to a dispute that leaves one couple's son physically injured after the other couple's boy attacks him, which leads to a verbal session in a nice New York a... read morepartment. While obviously more fit for the stage than the medium of film, director Roman Polanski gets the most out of his actors to make this thing engaging and realistic despite being only 80 minutes and on the way out of the door when it starts. While Jodie Foster overacts a tad, the rest of the cast is pretty spot on, notably John C. Reilly in a hilariously relaxed performance that unexpectedly changes gears in the latter half of the film that makes it all the more funny and involving. It is no "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", but it is an impressive small-scale effort on how protecting one's image through the use of performing and acting instead of being yourself from the start can lead to disastrous results that ultimately lead to others questioning one's security and trustfulness.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  May 16, 2012

  danperry17

  Darkly funny, scathing indictment of what passes for "normal" or "responsible" parenting in our society. Obvious when watching that it was first a play, but it's not to the film's detriment; one room, four actors, and one central problem to resolve: which child should be blamed f... read moreor a playground fight that left one of the two with a dental bill in the several thousands. Great because of the way the focus shifts from character to character, a real "L'enfer, c'est les autres," a la Sartre ("Huis Clos," usually translated to "No Exit" in English), as each one is pressed for their role/responsibilty in the situation. The ending, unfortunately, doesn't really resolve anything, but this is perhaps the point of the script: this is the most likely endpoint in a litigious, moral relativist society. Great acting, and very short, which helps you stay within its close quarters. Good work from Polanski, who I'm still barely acquainted with... I'll definitely watch more of his films.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  May 16, 2012

  fb1672039553

  For these four parents, this is hell. In a movie that lasts 80 minutes, we witness an 80-minute-long scene where politeness and courtesy clash with tribal loyalty and the pursuit of truth. One mother (Foster) believes in community and civility on paper, but in practice she is the... read more one in the room that is furthest from these ideals and yet has deceived herself into thinking she is the shining example. Kate Winslet's character tries very hard to avoid conflict and suffers from a ceaseless need for approval. Her cold, hot-shot husband is a philosopher king like Socrates, asking broad questions that try to establish or at least mock others' perceptions. The husband of Foster's character is no match but lucks-out as the two men often agree and share similar appreciation in drink and cigars. Power is passed around these four like a game of hot potato until eventually everyone gets hurt and no one wants to play anymore. The contrast between their composure at the beginning and the end is comically fascinating and warranted a second viewing, and this is required if you want to catch what really happens between their kids in the opening and closing shots.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  May 9, 2012

  hobster1

  Eavesdropping on the intimate conversation of these four acting greats is worth a look, To say the movie is stagy is to miss the point. It's supposed to be a claustrophobic, pressure cooker in a tastefully decorated living room. However this is the sort of production that benefit... read mores from the immediacy of a live performance. A theatrical film makes demands on the viewer that actually hurt the story's theater roots. These sorts of intellectual pieces unfold much better on a small TV screen where the sitcom like setup is more enjoyable. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is an obvious inspiration. Carnage is interesting, but the script doesn't achieve anything close to the truly biting commentary of that classic. We keep waiting for a defining moment that never arrives and ultimately has nothing really profound to say. At least these actors ensure that things are always entertaining. The disintegration of the cordial facades of the bourgeoisie into chaos is still a consistent watch

  Share This Review
• 
  
  April 27, 2012

  FiLmCrAzY

  I really wanted to watch this movie and now that i've seen it i am not disappointed!
  Its going to be a Marmite kind of film, your either going to Hate it with a passion or just absolutely Love it !
  Me personally i Loved it! I thought it was original, written extremely well, it wa... read mores acted beautifully which isn't a shock when its such a great cast! Its nice to see that Polanski has done one better than Ghost Writer as that was a truly dreadful movie!
  Its made beautifully and it sticks to the true form of being a play, which is great!
  Its Just a good movie that is thoroughly enjoyable and i just loved the ending a true play form which i loved!

  Share This Review
• 
  
  April 11, 2012

  LWOODS04

  Cast: Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz, Elvis Polanski, Eliot Berger
  
  Director: Roman Polanski
  
  Summary: In this comic drama from director Roman Polanski, two sets of parents meet in the aftermath of an incident in which one of their children bullied t... read morehe other. As the evening progresses, the adults confront each other in increasingly hostile ways.
  
  
  My Thoughts: "The film works. I know some will hate it or love it, I happen to be one that enjoyed it. It's a funny film. It starts out being about their sons playground brawl, but it soon insues into madness when the conversations start getting personal and honest. They soon start verbally attacking one other, but also each others marriages as well as their own and one anothers parenting. It's a conversation you don't want to miss. The acting is great and has to be considering its set in one place. I wouldn't mind seeing it again."

  Share This Review
• 
  
  March 29, 2012

  MrMarakai

  "God Of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza was originally a stage play that featured on Broadway, with such talented performers as James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis. Supposedly, it was quite a powerful piece, so Roman Polanski always had his work cut out in a... read moredapting it for the screen.
  Alan and Nancy Cowan (Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet) pay a visit to Michael and Penelope Longstreet (John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster) to discuss an upsetting schoolyard incident in which the first couple's son has beat up the other's. These four intelligent adults, hope they can resolve their differences with a positive approach and teach their children about responsibility, instead of resorting to physical or verbal abuse. However, things don't quite work out that way.
  Having not seen or read the play, my experience of this is based solely on Polanski's version. He has been criticised for not capturing the claustrophobia of the play but I have to say that the film really worked for me. There is obvious tensions between the characters and with nowhere for them to go but to sit around a cramped apartment, talking through their differences, the tension builds admirably. Granted, it wasn't as intense as I was expecting but what it did have (that I wasn't expecting) was a lot of humour. This is mainly down to four joyful performances. Throughout their (intended) cordial meeting, each character displays their viewpoints. In the beginning, they're subtle but as tempers begin to fray, they get more vicious with their barrage of abuse towards one another. The conduct of their behaviour often reflects their chosen professions. Foster is an aspiring writer, choosing her words carefully; Waltz is a high profile attorney who jumps on her every word; Winslet the frustrated housewife and Reilly, a low-key salesman finding himself the go-between during the escalating discomfort. Each one of the four actors put in fine performances but Reilly and Waltz are the particular standouts. Polanski himself, doesn't have to do much but allow his actors to take charge of their roles. And that they do.
  Capturing claustrophobic situations and heightened tensions between his characters is a notable gift that Polanski has shown throughout his films. The most notable comparison (also based on a stage play) is "Death And The Maiden". So, that being said, it's surprising that he was criticised for a lack of it here. If you go into this expecting humour then you won't be disappointed and it's always a bonus that the actual playwright contributes with the screenplay also.
  A finely tuned chamber piece that delivers a real sense of uncomfortable cordiality. The characters are identifiable and the actors deliver with aplomb.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  March 28, 2012

  imrealgod

  I don't see much of an option on how to wrap it up. It'd to stop at one point than another. But Polanski manages to pull it off reasonably well. Being armed with fine actors does help. However, Kate & Jodie do get totally theatrical towards the end. It's too apparent how unreal t... read morehe act is when the camera focuses on Kate's face (close-up) on her outburst at the end. Outburst may not be the right word for the movie is full of it, but that's what coming to mind right now. Other than that, it works as a time pass. If you're not anti-Polanski, it's worth a shot. It's not the usual Polanski flick, though. A bit Woody, maybe, but it's easy to find many of the genre. Too easy. I'm an exception for the time being, though. But I'm sure there are many. Take that one, for instance. Or that one. Anyone that you prefer. Okay, wrapping it up. Hope you'd be able to laugh off the childishness.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  March 27, 2012

  kenstachnik

  Great performances and defiantly funny, but it feel like it's missing something.
  Like an ending maybe.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  March 27, 2012

  FrizzDrop

  It played out exactly how I thought it would go. This "comedy" is based on the play "God of Carnage" and was directed by the enigmatic Roman Polanski. The film has the same parameters of a play, including a small cast of characters and keeping within a small space, which is an ap... read moreartment in this film. The plot is simple, and anyone can tell you nothing much happens except that four parents talk about the semantics of their two children's fight in a park. Things do in fact happen, as the foursome escalates gradually from people with quiet dispositions and forced humility, to brooding, fighting children. That seems to be the entire pretense of this very short film: the creative deconstruction of four people who have liberal values, care about political correctness, and are trying to be courteous to one another. Then, everything starts breaking down, as one husband reveals his mollifying, petty side, while the other is a hypocritical, philosophical man with as much apathy as a Goth contender. Meanwhile the wives are counterintuitive, slighting, and suspicious of one another. One seems to be the high moral type with a far tilt towards obsession for her son, while the other tries for acrimony amongst the fray. What it really comes down to, is that the film turns these people, possibly masked by insecurity and bias for their children, and gets them fighting as social rejects. They form alliances, and not just with their spouses, and fall into name calling, and poking fun at one another's expense as often as possible. Their situation mirrors that of their children, and possibly sheds light on people's weaknesses. At the end I wasn't quite sure if they were in fact the slags they claimed to be, or if they each had marriages on the brink of crumbling, but as a character study, and a chance to show the slights of adults deforming into juvenile tantrums, I was enthralled. The four actors chosen were brilliant, and I wouldn't have changed anything about this predicament. The ending was abrupt, but not out of place. Still, it certainly was not a comedy by any means, unless senseless indecency and reckless abandon are your cup of tea. It really made me uncomfortable, and was slow and methodical throughout. Not my kind of film, but definitely not lacking. Loved the direction, and the simplicity, and I do recommend it outright.

  Share This Review

• Jodie Foster as Penelope Longstreet
• Kate Winslet as Nancy Cowan
• Christoph Waltz as Alan Cowan
• John C. Reilly as Michael Longstreet
• Elvis Polanski as Zachary
• Eliot Berger as Ethan
• Joseph Rezwin as Walter
• Nathan Rippy as Dennis
• Tanya Lopert as Mother

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

• 
  Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (100%)
• 
  Rope (100%)
• 
  Husbands and Wives (50%)
• 
  Happiness (67%)

• • Nancy Cowan: I am glad our son kicked the s**t out of your son and I wipe my ass with your 'human rights'!
• • Nancy Cowan: Do you think it was the cobbler?
  • Alan Cowan: Of course it was. A little warm Coke and BANG!
• • Alan Cowan: I saw your friend Jane Fonda on TV the other day. Made me want to run out and buy a poster from the Ku Klux Klan.
• • Michael Longstreet: We're born alone and we die alone.... who wants a scotch?
• • Penelope Longstreet: I DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR AND I DON'T WANT ONE!
• • Michael Longstreet: Children suck the life out of you and leave us old and empty. It's the law of nature.

• In Spiderman 3, Spiderman battles Venom. Who is the other villain from the comic books that is like Venom?  Answer »
• Which of these Spider-Man villians has never been in one of the movies?  Answer »
• Who was not a villian in SpiderMan's movies.  Answer »
• What is the name of the Symbiote that appears in Spiderman 3? You Chose: d. Venom (Correct - 10 pts) Correct Answer: a. Carnage (0%) b. Toxin (5%) c. Scream (5%) d. Venom (11%) e. Hybrid (1%) Though, throughout the movie, the name Venom is never mentioned.  Answer »

No quizzes for Carnage. Want to create one?

• Carnage
• Carnage (German)
• Carnage Trailer
• Carnage (French)
• Carnage: What They Were Arguing About
• Exclusive Carnage Clip
• Carnage: Phone
• Carnage: Maniac
• Carnage (Uk)

• AmirPashaAzad
• chuankung1
• kevinchand...
• LWOODS04
• FatiFatinah
• TheGame90
• erikav4
• vasperlynd

No recent headlines. Got one?

• 

  Other Great Films of 2011

  by jmh710
  35 Movies
• 

  Other Great Films of 2011

  by jmh7101
  35 Movies
• 

  Películas por Ver

  by manuelvalle1
  28 Movies
• 

  Dramas

  by msparrow1
  47 Movies
• 

  Recently Seen

  by philipmevans
  60 Movies

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?