We Need to Talk About Kevin

A travel writer and her husband give up their bohemian lifestyle to have a child, but when their son grows up into a sociopathic teen, their life becomes a living hell.

Eva (Tilda Swinton), a once successful travel writer lives alone in a dilapidated house which is regularly paint bombed by angry locals. On her days off she visits her son Kevin, who is serving out a prison sentence for an unspeakable crime. Through flashback we learn Eva had a difficult time raising Kevin, who as a child was detached and combative. Although on his best behaviour when his father is present, with Eva he is dismissive and manipulative and when a young sister comes on the scene, Kevin is resentful. As a teenager he becomes more detached and dangerous and soon enough Eva’s worst fears about her son are realised.

Curator’s note
Based on Lionel Shriver’s watercooler book of the same name, director Lynne Ramsay does away with one of the novel’s biggest conceit, a series of letters between Eva and her husband as she grapples with what they could have done as parents to avert this tragedy. Instead, Ramsay adopts a more sensory approach (aided by vivid colour and an unsettling sound design) as we witness through Eva’s disjointed recollection the unfolding horror, the wretched guilt and the complex bonds of motherhood.