Best Films of the 2000s: Little Children (2006) | The Best Films of 2000s: This Guy Over Here

Little Children (2006)

Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jack Earl Haley
Director: Todd Field
Country: USA
Genre: Drama

“So lock up your daughter
And lock up your wife
Lock up your back door
And run for your life
The man is back in town”
T.N.T. by AC/DC

Quite often these dramas that seem like they could be potentially overbearing end up being surprisingly watchable. Little Children is more than just watchable though, it’s a really unique and well-crafted piece of filmmaking. Its cast is tremendous, even the grossly underused Jennifer Connolly. The narrative moves along at a quick pace with a spot on voice over giving the audience insight into the character’s simple lives and complex minds. With content as heavy as this, there’s a certain foreboding feeling going into it, but it explores it in such a way that it emerges through the character’s discoveries thus taking a lot of the preachy edge off. Jack Earl Haley is outstanding as a sex offender rereleased into a suburban neighborhood, (and a public swimming pool in one of the most uncomfortable underwater scenes since Jaws.) Little Children isn’t the lightest of movies, but damn is it good.

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