REVIEW: Little Children

Todd Field's Little Children is a fascinating little film. This is his first film since his debut In The Bedroom which was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture five years ago. What both of Field's films have in common is that they are highly emotional, intricately plotted movies built around relationships between a few main characters. Field wrote, directed and produced both films and has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for both films. In the Bedroom featured tour-de-force acting from Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei. Sadly, the acting in Little Children is not as spectacular.

However, Kate Winslet and Jackie Earle Haley both earned Oscar nominations for Field's latest cinematic outing. Patrick Wilson's cheekbones, cleft chin and full lips sadly were sadly not recognized by the Academy, though well appreciated by this reviewer. Jennifer Connelly (Best Supporting Actress, A Beautiful Mind) is consistently alluring as Wilson's working wife who doesn't suspect her studying-for-the-bar, stay-at-home husband may be wandering.

In fact wandering is a central theme of the film. Both Winslet's and Wilson's character wander through life somewhat aimlessly, and eventually fall into each other. Another theme is voyeurism. The audience is encouraged to be voyeurs (literally) as we watch the beautiful bronzed body of Patrick Wilsom couple with Kate Winslet's pale pulchritudinous form. A comically booming narrator enhances the sense that the audience is o n the outside looking in on these curious sububraban characters. The main subplot of the film involves Haley's character, who is a convicted child molester , goes to the municipal pool with a snorkel and mask so he can ogle little children under the surface of the water.

GRADE: A-.