The intro hits different now that Stuckmann is a father.

I think the music choices were spot on. They were meant to not fit with what was going on in the scene to add to her sense of being disconnected from the life she wanted to have.

How I took it as- All Kevin ever wanted was to see her mom react. To him the few times when she finally does disciplines him, he takes it as a sign that she really does care. That's why whenever she gets upset he rewards her by doing what she wants.

I loved this Ezra Miller documentary

@TheIgnoranTintellect Ya know what buddy? Guess what my job was before I became a professional film critic. I was the guardian of 7 mentally handicapped children. Yes, I did that for 2 years, all day, 5 days a week. So don't you ever, EVER call me insecure or immature because I've chosen not to have children. It's a desicion made over 2 years of dealing with children that has come of from a lot of experience. You've gotta realize that you don't know everything about someone just at a glance.

The kid pure creeped me out. He reminded me of Elliot Rodgers

Spoilers: Something interesting that i noticed is that near the end of the film kevin kills his sister and father but not his mother. This really reminds me of the 1966 charles whittman shooting. Charles whittman killed his wife and mother. The next day he went to the top of a tower and shot 40 people killing 12. The reason he killed his wife and mother is because he wanted all the backlash to go to his father. I feel kevin and charles share the same reason for sparing a parent.

Watching this review in 2021. I've just finished watching the movie for the first time and I needed to know your thoughts!

The real plot twist is Ezra Miller now has a warrant for arrest for kidnapping. 😱

Just watched this and loved it. Didn't find it uncomfortable to watch at all. I found the way it all unfolded to be fantastic, but unfortunately it's one of those movies that you'll never get that same, amazing, experience again from it after you've seen it. I'm sure I'd enjoy it on a second viewing, but the way it unfolded, the mystery, the buildup, the questions (where is Kevin? Where is the father? Where is the daughter? Did they book town? Are any of them dead? Why does she insist on staying there?), were so excellently slowly unraveled in this awesome, dreamlike fashion. Really made you feel like the main character being haunted by the memories and confronting them while at the same time trying her best to put them behind her. But the best parts, in my opinion, were the little things. The scene with the kid in the wheel chair who seems to understand that she is a victim in all this too. Perhaps even more than himself. The woman who slaps her across the face. The kids on Halloween surrounding her house. Pretty much everything with Ezra Miller. Holy shit was he awesome in this. The mini-golf scene "wonder where I get it from...". The "I am the context" scene. The silent shots of them sitting across from each other, presumably, for almost two years straight, saying nothing. The way he fingered his scar from when he was a child, might as well just be pointing his finger right at her and saying "IT'S YOU! YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS!". And, especially, the scene when he is finally asked why. Why did he do this. And his answer. Absolute perfection. 9/10 IMO. Amazingly well made movie and well told story. One of the greats.

Man they made us watch this in our class for psychoanalysis, and it's very well made. They showed us all the mental illnesses involved with the characters, I still miss being able to see movies just for fun.

Can we talk about the dad in this? I feel like he has some blame in this too. I mean he kept making excuses for kevien over and over, gave him a freaking bow and arrow as a gift, even though it seems to show he has violent tendencies, did not comfort the mother at all through this entire depression and said that she was crazy and stupi for blaming Kevin for hurting their daughter. Oh and let’s not forget making Eva promis to stay while in the heat of the moment. One thing you have to make sure of while making decisions is not to be mad, sad or anything type of big emotion that will prevent you from making rational choices. He knew that she loves traveling s lot, so he should have sat down with her to make a choice whither or not to stay married or have kids. But he didn’t and in the end he got killed.

Congratulations on the twins. Wishing you guys the best.

This aged poorly, daddy Chris.

I liked the movie, but thought the book was way better. The book really shows insight into the fucked up family relations between all of the characters. In that sense, the book conveys the discussion on nature vs nurture so much better. In the movie you get the sense that Kevin is just born evil, a born socio/psychopath. In the book, you are not so sure. Did Kevin turn out to be what he was because he was born that way, or because his mother just wasn't such a great mother and in essence did not want him, and his dad just let him get away with everything? One of the things that really aren't fleshed out in the movie is the role of the dad. In the book, I hated the guy. He never believed his wife when she told him things about Kevin, he always took Kevin's word over hers, he always let Kevin get away with things. It is depicted in the film in a small way, but the book really brought this to light and his attitude annoyed me so much.

This movie is amazing, I wanted to see it be an A, or maybe even an A+. spoilers This film gives justice to the sentiment of a sociopath. And that's what he is, by the books. Animal abuse, compulsive tendencies, lack of empathy, torturing people for no reason. Kevin was born the way he is, and immediately he starts to indiscriminately attack specific things to test the breaking point of them. His mother, however, becomes broken but does not fall apart. She's the one who not only tolerated who he really is, but hurt him back (he clearly enjoys pain) when she broke his arm. He broke his sister mentally, he made her dislike herself fundamentally, she would have grown up broken. He killed her guinea pig. He blinded her for fun. The whole film we're shown how much he does to his mother, how he seems to hate her so deeply, how he isolates her, until we learn the type of person Kevin truly is. He has a disconnect from reality, clearly, or at least a lack of a will to acknowledge it or its value. He doesn't really feels like he cares about anyone, and it's after he commits the murders that he confronts who he is and we learn that this entire time after toying with everyone he's ever interacted with, that what he did to his mother is a sort of love, and at the end we see his fear, his true sense of fear, knowing that maybe all of this wasn't as deliberate as he thought. The fact that all of this culminated in the massacre shows us two things: One, that his mother was only one part of his life. He felt the urge to kill people, likely for years, and he practiced archery to an end. He probably planned the attack for a long time and just wasn't sure how he would do it. Then he took a bit of time to plan his method and did it. He has a disdain for being alive, and humanity in general. This film is beautiful because it shows us as it goes on that his mother isn't as much of a focus as we initially believe. We learn that in the end the closest he ever got to love was his mother. He didn't WANT to kill his mom because she challenged him and she denied him control. At the end, seeing him as a scared boy, seeing him lack confidence, we see him be vulnerable because she has forgiven him and he actually respects that. He respects her. He entertains the idea of love maybe existing for someone like him, he shows a degree of sadness and concern. Earlier in the film we see him with long hair acting confident because although she visits, she hasn't forgiven him. It's when she accepts that she loves her son that he reacts back and finally gives her an answer: that there was indeed no point. That the fact that no point is required compelled him to be the person he is. This film, from top to bottom, is PHENOMENAL. The second thing we learn from his life story culminating in a killing is that this is more than a story, and an idea of how something like that even happens. The moments this film captures, the way it chooses to capture them, the order of events in the storytelling, the CINEMATOGRAPHY, this film is damn near flawless with great performances all around. It is crushing. It's also endlessly thought provoking in ways films like Chiraq wishes they were badly. this movie is fine art, I can't recommend it enough or give it higher praise. I like the score you gave it, Chris, but I think while you understood the film you missed the sentiment, perhaps only watched it once. The film isn't about the child Kevin, it's about the profound type of twistedness a person can just inherently have within them, and if learning their life story, and who they are, and who they become makes you understand a little. In the end Kevin is battered, clearly being beaten frequently and afraid of being beaten or raped worse or even killed. We see that he's not a demon, he's a person who doesn't know how to feel the right way whose mind works differently, and how there truly is nothing his mother could have done to stop this. Not physical discipline, certainly not. His problems are deeper than skin and nerves. This film. Is amazing. In the beginning, before Kevin is even shown, he's built up to be this huge figure, and it delivers. It's not linear, it's not usual, it's beautiful, it's amazing.

The start of this aged like milk

"All my life, I have known that I don't want children." - Chris Stuckmann, 10 years before he had two newborn children

This movie was so well made on so many levels. Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller really knock it out of the park. I thought John C. Reilly's role was just filler. His character just spent the whole film saying that his son was just a "sweet boy." How could he be that naive? I liked how they delved into the way that society treats the mother's of murderers as if it was "her fault". That scene when the woman slaps Tilda Swinton was incredible. How could someone do that?

Ezra Miller is so God damn good needs to be in more stuff

Personally, I think Kevin is a sociopath. From a very young age, even before he could say a word, he showed no emotion towards his mother and manipulated his father. From my point of view, this movie shows how a woman who didn't want a kid in the first place (wanted to travel and live her life free) was not only forced in having that suburban life she never wanted, but the light that could have been her son was in fact a burning fire. He showed no affection and no wish to create bond with her on top of being extremely destructive to what she likes most. She felt more and more alone and Kevin also wanted her to be alone, to be his private toy.

Chris saying he doesn’t want children and now he is about to be a dad lol.

I think this counts as his most savage opening ever. What if he changes his mind and Little Stuckmann sees this someday lol

10 years ago: I don’t want children And here we are 10 years later, and you have children Lol

My daughter had colic the first 3 months after she was born (turned out she was lactose intolerant) and cried incessantly. Watching this movie brought all the memories of that period flooding back. It scared me how guilty this movie made me feel reliving those 3 months of a nonstop crying baby because I became so fed up with parenthood at that time. Thank goodness things progressed normally after that, but this movie brought up bad memories I thought I had forgotten.

You can't discipline a sociopath. They need special help.

I agree with your assessment of "over analyzing" the movie. When I got to the end of the movie (just now having watched it), I thought back on it and wondered about his response, that he doesn't really know why. And I think his response to why he had the disk.. "There is no point. That's the point." Sums up the movie, and Kevin, 100%. I also agree, the acting sold this movie all the way; had it been acted with any less than it was, I would have disregarded this movie as just some random project-of-interest for the director. But the actors and actresses really brought his vision to life perfectly. But, back on point. It's just this kid, who was born with chemical imbalances, who tormented his mom because... .. he felt like it, and we, as the audience, would never know fully what was going through his head; especially when it comes to the "why" of his actions. I thought it was a great idea in the direction to not show him in his every day life. We don't see him going to school, they don't try to get him into therapy, we don't see him with friends or anything like that. He comes and goes, basically as he pleases. It did a great job at keeping the audience with the mother, and feeling how she was feeling in these situations. When they came back home from the hospital, he knew that if he took the blame, the mom would be stuck in a spot. Either admitting to breaking his arm, or not, and that gave Kevin all the power. Not to say that "is the reason" why he was allowed to get away with things with his father, but it does kind of explain why the mother was hesitant to say or do anything against him again. Made for an interesting power dynamic, that seemed fairly realistic in that situation. A timid mother, uneasy about her kid, afraid of what he might do if she didn't "give in", and having to deal with the father who just didn't see what was going on (or, rather, denied it being malicious).. what is she supposed to do, you know? I can't imagine the hardships and insanity that a family raising a full-blown psychopath would go through, but I think this movie does a great job representing it. As a side note, I also noted that the town basically blamed the mother for what Kevin did. We see it a lot, especially online, where when a kid does something wrong, it's almost always "who/where were the parents?" "That kid needed discipline", etc. etc. When, in reality, the kid was just the kid. He had good parents (yeah, sure, throwing your kid isn't ideal, but... she did her best), a good sister, a nice house.. he just was.. what he was. I personally don't know that anything would have really helped Kevin.

Slapping and beating a kid like Kevin doesn't make them "better". It just teaches them to rely more on violence as a way of trying to influence other people and/or solve their problems. Watch another film called, "Full Metal Jacket" for an example of why simply beating the crap out of someone doesn't necessarily make them a better person.

0:00 Well, this didn't age well. Congrats on the twins!

a movie about Ezra being himself.

This intro aged like milk. 2% milk.

0:00 - 0:07 people change

What? No talk about the excellent directing or cinematography? The birth scene particularly highlights the amazing visual expertise on display in this movie.

The book and the movie are both Eva's voice. Even in the book she says that she can't dissociate Kevin and the evil vibes she receives from him. The memories are blurred because of Eva's bias.

Well Chris, hopefully your kids turn out better.

It sort of daunts me that everyone's commenting about how Kevin is "definitely a psychopath" or "the mother's a terrible person" when I think the whole point of the story was for it to be unclear if it was both, one, or no party's fault for what resulted. At least that's the impression I got from the book. It makes me sad to see everyone insulting each other because they have different interpretations when I think that was the purpose 3:

Lots of babies are unwanted, horribly abused, endure poverty but turn out to be ok people. Some become very successful and beyond rich. The movie portrayed Kevin as an anomaly (Sociopath, psychopath, anti-social, whatever....) that seemed to be born that way. The mother was the only one that saw that abnormality in him and that’s why he opposed her. Kevin was by no means an abused child but on the contrary, he lived a life of privilege. Yet, he was a Monster. The medical profession can only diagnose and prescribe pills. These people cannot be cured. A lot of disability recipients have abnormal psychology and many of them live on their own and have never committed any crimes.

It's funny now since the movie made Chris not want to have kids. 10 years later he now has twins boys.

Honestly this film got to me. Not just because of what Kevin did, but the battle between him and Eva. It was never just one sided. Granted it is clear that Kevin went to more extremes (obviously) with his actions, but his mother isn't completely without fault. She was very cold and uncaring to him when he was a baby. And even as he grew older, she still challenged him and still had a cold indifference towards him. However that still being said, its not 100% her doing that Kevin became a sociopath. But it very apparent that her treatment towards him could have helped him to develop that way. Also I will say that even after this film, it doesn't make me afraid of having kids. It does however give me insight to pay attention and perhaps not make the same mistakes Eva made in the film if I ever do become a parent someday.

Kevin and his mom's relationship reminds me of mine and my mother's. I didn't commit a school massacre like Kevin but I was a nearly impossible child to deal with.

this movie should be call "WTF with Kevin" :P

watched it recently, kept me up at night just thinking about kevin lmao

LMFAO YOU'VE COME A LONG ASS WAYYYY HAHAHA

Now you're a father....how do you feel

Ah you can't discipline a psychopath you can basically just have them locked up before they hurt someone

we need to talk about The Flash!

Intro aged like a fine wine

The thing I didn’t get about this movie is if the son committed all of these horrible acts, why is the mother so hated by the town she lives in? She lost her whole family and people seem to blame her

I watched this and I immediately reminded me of the Paris Bennett case. He murdered his own sister just to make his mum suffer. Creepy.

This intro though... This is interesting. Since Chris has had this feeling, and had at some point overcome it and later become a father, I can say that he will be a good father.

I made my mom watch the movie on Christmas lol the whole time she was like wtf and I would've kick his ass.

You're right about not recommending the film to pregnant ladies. I'm pregnant myself but read the book about a year ago. It is a fantastic read but I work real hard to not to think about the story at this time.

@TheIgnoranTintellect To quote your comment on my short film: "professionals use tact and the ones who don't are assholes plain and simple"

I know that We Need To Talk About Kevin is a psychological drama with hints of thriller near the end. But due to the message and context of the film, I would personaly consider it a horror film in a way. Because it's chilling and kind of scary what Kevin does near the end that makes him, well, Kevin. Does anyone else agree? Please reply if you do.

Its awesome that you have evolved from this. what you do now is amazing. thank you for your content sir. keep it up

Tell your two boys that haha

Funny, my dad also said he never wanted kids. Oops on his part.

lol if you ever do have kids and they see this video, whoops

sometimes I come back to one of this reviews only to enjoy the old intro

This movie was too cynical for me. I would like to have kids one day, but this movie made me want to get my ovaries clipped.

1. I love this movie. 2. I am baffled and frankly disturbed by the multitude of comments, reviews and interpretations of this film that are so incredibly unobservant and missing the point. (SPOILERS WARNING!!) The mother was a travel writer. She resented her husband's urging for her to "settle" and have a kid even as she was pregnant. That resentment was IMMEDIATELY turned on the child from the moment he is born. I'm not saying it was intentional on her part to hate Kevin, but she did not want to be a mother. She does not seem like an emotionally stable person, which ends up being passed to her child both biologically and environmentally. She did not bond with her baby. Personally I view the presentation in this film as initial resentment being magnified by postpartum depression which often does manifest itself as the inability to bond with your child in the way a mother should. Unfortunately, that lack of bonding is severely psychologically damaging to a child's psyche; their home, parents etc are their entire world for those first critical years and a child interprets a parent's resentment toward them as a defectiveness on their part. "Why doesn't my mom love me? What's wrong with me? WHY DON'T I DESERVE TO BE LOVED?" Growing up without that bond and with very obvious resentment being acted out toward him from a young age, he grew ANGRY. He was shown resentment from the mother, so he grew to resent her as well, for failing to give him love, for failing to provide him with anything but a negative and inexplicably painful and lacking self-image, etc. He resented the fact that she resented him. I was shocked and saddened by the scene in which he is approximately seven or eight, his mom is pregnant, and he makes the comment "just because you're used to something doesn't mean you like it. You're used to me..." and the mom just stares at him and shrugs. He is RIGHT THERE throwing the truth in her face, and frankly, asking very faintly and subconsciously for her to wake up, for her to deny it, for her to react in ANY WAY - because ANY reaction is better than no reaction! Any reaction would indicate she cared for him or loved him in SOME WAY, but her silence confirms his blatant acknowledgement that she doesn't, at all. It was shockingly ridiculous that at age eight, Kevin was still wearing diapers, and pooping his pants. Whether it be intentional like it was shown when he was only in the company of his mother, or accidental as the father believes, at age eight still having to wear diapers would have any kid in a psychologist's office STAT. How was that not considered a very serious problem in school? Teachers would have been VERY concerned about that issue (I believe there is actually a potty-training requirement in grade school as is...) Kevin is not a sociopath. He is an EXTREMELY damaged person with absolutely no sense of self-worth, which is especially sad because he never had a chance to have one from the moment of his conception. What he went through with his mother was a very potent form of abuse, and that's the most blatant thing about this film that I feel people completely ignore. At the end of this film when the mother asks why and Kevin says, "I wish I knew.. now I'm not so sure." I personally view his violence as a reaction to the rage he feels toward believing he was too defective to have ever received his mother's love. I think he truly believes that what he did to others was what she has always wanted to do to him. "We Need To Talk About Kevin" was a tragic story of abuse and the severity of damage that such dysfunction can cause. Kevin was a psychopath, sure, and I'm sure his genetic make-up was unstable, but I wholeheartedly believe that the movie was showcasing that if he had been raised in a healthy environment, he would have been a very different person. People often seem to compare this to "The Good Son" and that blows my mind. That was a movie about loving parents and a happy home, in which case that child was a sociopath. "We Need To Talk About Kevin" was a VERY opposite story. Tragic, sad, and preventable.

When I was pregnant, I felt I could handle almost anything that might come my way, having a child who was born blind, or who was developmentally disabled, etc., these would be challenges but the family would find a way. However, the one possibility that terrified me was the specter of psychopathy. What if I had a kid who was a psychopath? What would I do? How could I possibly cope?

wow that opening sequence.what drugs were you into those times?

I read the book earlier this year and didn't even realize it'd been made into a movie. Thanks for the review. I'll definitely be checking it out.

This movie really pushed a button for me. My sister & I were both adopted (from different families) and after I grew up I always heard my mom saying that, as a baby, my sister would hold her at arms' length, she'd never show affection, and she was later truly spiteful to her (my mom.) I was 7 years younger so I never saw my sister as a baby, so I never bought my mom's "your sister always hated me" story. When I saw this, it was almost painful to watch and it made me feel guilty that I had doubted my mom's story and actually blamed her for our family being so divided. Thankfully my sister never shot up a school or anything but she sure as heck ruined our family. A tough movie to watch but it was incredibly moving.

just caught this movie tonight and was pleasantly surprised to see you have a review on it. As per the usual Chris, I definitely agree with you. The song choices were weird and beside it being a slow but steady pace, it was an excellent film. Very glad I took the time to sit down and watch it.

These old intros are amazing

No kids Chris ? Imagine having a kid named Lucas Stuckmann

I applaud you for not giving to much of the plot. When I found out his true nature I couldn't help but think, "Dammit Chris you really under-emphasized Kevin's character." Thank you, your review is spot on and you should know I hardly even noticed to the music (score).

This movie sticks to you for days. Ain't no light and fluffy that's for sure

The old intro kills me everytime

I actually thought the music selection was good

The opening to this video made me laugh so hard, you are sincerely awesome, Chris.

This story is so much deeper than the black-and-white way you’re explaining it.

I absolutely love this movie, it is one of those you never forget about, Tilda and Ezra were amazing and the story was really well written, it was deep, interresting and surprising👍

it is not a bad movie, in fact it had me onthe edge of my seat, but i dont really understand what it was trying to accomplish. there is no pay off, there is no ending. i hate it when movies do this thing where they just abruptly end or end with a really vague almost pointless weird scene. joker did this, and it sucked. yet everyone praised it. no country for old men did this, it sucked, but yet everyone praised it. then we have this movie, which does it, and it just BARELY has a payoff.

I wasn't expecting such a high rating for this. It made me smile. :) Great review!

I like film adaptions but this book (which is brilliant) is essentially just letters written by the mother after the fact. I.e. not something you easily turn into a film.

Watching this in 2020. The movie still holds up

I work with kids and don't have them. I've seen a lot, been around some pretty messed up kids who wear me out even though I'm only with them a few hours- I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be their parents. I think people need to think very hard before deciding to have children; they always see the hallmark version of parenthood in their head and it doesn't occur to them, that you may wind up with a kid who is hard to like and needs a lot more than what you have it in you to give.

OMG 2011 Chris’ videos are so different to 2018 hahaha I loved that intro

watching this video in 2020.

Great movie, so I just finished the book, by Lionel Shriver. Very worthwhile read !

The movie is about PSYCHOPATHY. Modern research has shown that psychopaths are born with brain defects in the area of the brain dealing with empathy and communication. Imagine being unable to feel any attachment to other people - and I mean NOTHING. Imagine not being able to feel any remorse or guilt, for your whole life. That's psychopathy, and that's the subject of the movie. It's shocking how many are unaware of psychopathy and how it affects our society.

OMG THIS INTRO!!! 😂

I saw the film about four years ago. I was in a bad mood and I didn't feel like analyzing or thinking about it at all, so I just forgot about it. Then, about six months ago, I remembered it, read the book, and now I saw the film again - a TOTALLY different experience, now I LOVE this movie, the actors, the music, the way it's put together (even though I think it's a little bit too confusing for those who haven't read the book), and just everything about it. the story is straight out fantastic.

great review chris I enjoyed it thoroughly. questioned do you consider yourself more of a screenplay writer or strictly a director. or do you believe that they come in hand-in-hand at the end of the day.??

~Excellent review Chris~ ~I'm intrigued so Ive got to see this film~

Kind of a weird roll for John C. Riley

Don’t let the twins see this video intro

One of the most Terrifying and Beautiful films I have ever seen!

DUDE! Where is the colab with tom? Can you review the big lebowski with him?

Yeah, you see, that's what I thought at first, too. And than I rewatched it, and now I see they are both psycopaths, and the mother created the son in a weird way. There are strong parallels throughtout the movie of them being one and the same. There's no excuse for what he did, though, and discipline wouldn't help, I don't think.

It was emotionally and mentally exhausting. The pacing is terrible, the music is played for irony and is massively overdone, the length is excessive and the leading dread is overplayed and under-delivers. However, the acting is exceptional. It's an exemplary example of a SunDance darling, which really tells you all you need to know about whether you'll 'enjoy' it. I didn't 'enjoy' it, I actually regret watching it, I dislike what it put me through and how I felt afterwards. You have a relationship with the characters and it's the sort of relationship that you regret having, that you need to get out of, because it's doing you no good, and you see no way to resolve it other than just leave.

I agree that people are INCLINED to be murderers, but it's naive to think that people are just "born bad". This is worse because it skews our perception of people who have disabilities like asperger's and autism. 'They're beyond help, so forget providing support! If they can't connect with others, they should all just be put down' is what the film seems to say.

I couldn't watch all of this movie. I found myself wondering why she didn't take that little monster out in the middle of nowhere......

There's a story that is so reminiscent of this.

Everyone who wants to have kids should watch this 100% because genetics are a lottery - you can hit the jackpot and get a perfect kid, you could end up with a kid with a serious disability, or you can get your own Kevin and you won't know until they're born. It's like one of those surprise capsules except some have turds inside. Absolutely believe the fluffy "parenthood is happy joy and all babies will be perfect and cute" lie needs to be stripped away and boy does this movie do it well.

Great review!

That's funny. I kept calling Tilda Swinton's character Tilda Swinton through the whole movie. She is fucking amazing. The demon baby's performance was good and Ezra Miller's performance was better. I disagree about the music though, the music is amazing. It enhanced the movie especially the Washington Philips song.