This movie does so many things right that it's hard to nitpick the things that it does wrong. The acting is absolutely awe-inspiring (especially that of the little boy), and even the adults play their parts to perfection. It was literally like watching a documentary on TV, watching families and children interact with each other in such a natural way. You don't really see this type of cinema all the time, and the effortlessness of the cast dynamic really made everything about this movie shine.
But with all the glowing praise I have, it's the subject matter that was really disturbing for me. I know some kids are born rotten and there is nothing much you can do for them but watch them grow to be rotten adults, but the stuff these kids do is beyond deplorable. I mean, do children really do these things and what kind of parents are raising these little monsters? It was horrifying to see little kids being as awful as I know they can be, and the stellar performances only served to bring this home in a much more direct way. Honestly, the most horrifying thing about this movie were the actual children.
I wish the creative team went a little further with the powers aspect of the film, I wish they would have spread out the abilities a little more as I thought the boy having the "most" power really limited the film (while he wasn't exactly the most powerful), and I wish the SFX was more dynamic, but what we got was serviceable and really did a great job bringing the whole film together.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film and while it was a little on the long side, I enjoyed every minute of it. Certainly not a film for everyone, and if you dislike children like I do you will find a lot of distasteful stuff. But if you enjoy good cinema, you can learn to grit your teeth and endure monster children and you will find a very stellar film.
But with all the glowing praise I have, it's the subject matter that was really disturbing for me. I know some kids are born rotten and there is nothing much you can do for them but watch them grow to be rotten adults, but the stuff these kids do is beyond deplorable. I mean, do children really do these things and what kind of parents are raising these little monsters? It was horrifying to see little kids being as awful as I know they can be, and the stellar performances only served to bring this home in a much more direct way. Honestly, the most horrifying thing about this movie were the actual children.
I wish the creative team went a little further with the powers aspect of the film, I wish they would have spread out the abilities a little more as I thought the boy having the "most" power really limited the film (while he wasn't exactly the most powerful), and I wish the SFX was more dynamic, but what we got was serviceable and really did a great job bringing the whole film together.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film and while it was a little on the long side, I enjoyed every minute of it. Certainly not a film for everyone, and if you dislike children like I do you will find a lot of distasteful stuff. But if you enjoy good cinema, you can learn to grit your teeth and endure monster children and you will find a very stellar film.