Little Children review

Number 668 on the top 1000 films of all time is the melodrama Little Children

Sarah Pierce (Kate winslet) and Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) are both stuck in loveless marriages with young children to boot. In their sleepy Boston town, they begin an affair together but their happiness could be threatened when recently paroled sexual offender Ronnie Mcgorvey (Jackie Earle Haley moves into their neighbourhood. Noah Emmerich and Jennifer Connelly co-star.

Little children was written by Tom Perrotta who is best known for writing the Famed HBO TV series: The Leftovers. It was easy to see the similarities. Both projects focussed on the intricacies of everyday life - albeit in different ways. But they also explored some dark themes. And the darkness present here really turned me off this film.

This is a satirical melodrama so I guess it only makes sense having a character like Mcgorvey But I didn't like his inclusion at all. It was difficult to tell his purpose - was he there as the obvious villain? Possible but he doesn't really engage with our protagonists or is he there to draw sympathy? But can we ever feel sympathy for a PDFile/grapist? Not that we're expected to when we see how he has failed to reform at all. 

He just seemed so tangential to everything that I didn't understand his purpose to the plot. I guess he was a subplot but an irrelevant one 

I was still far more invested in Sarah and Brad's adulterous relationship even though it bordered on unbelievable at times. Seriously...nobody questioned why they were getting it on in the football stadium? I wouldn't go far to say that Kate Winslet is ALWAYS good but she was convincing here as was Patrick Wilson. I enjoyed seeing them try and fail to integrate into their communities. 

If only the film focussed more on them than Mcgorvey, I would be giving Little Children a more resounding review