Spoiling the End of “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

I always feel proud of myself when I settle in to watch a movie that most people agree is good because of how much effort it feels like it takes to watch a ‘good’ movie. It’s so much easier to watch something like Species because IMDb promised titties, rather than something like We Need to Talk About Kevin, which IMDb promised a ‘drama, mystery, thriller’, and won a ton of awards.

That said, I’m really proud of myself for getting through this one. Pat me on the back, please. It only took me two tries! Only! You can’t really talk about this movie without discussing the end, so here’s your only warning: This review contains spoilers.

Dumbledore Dies At the End

A lot of the chatter on Reddit is about the characters, their motivations, and the eventual climax of the film being borne of their relationships. Tilda Swinton plays Eva, and Ezra Miller plays Kevin, her son. The film, directed by Lynne Ramsay, sort of agrees with me when I say you can’t really talk about the story as a whole without talking about the climax, because a large part of the framing of Eva’s character is based on what happens to her after the climax. So Ramsay pretty much up and says it: Kevin murders a bunch of kids at his high school.

The rest of the film explores the question why. A lot of people got caught up in that question when it comes to discussing the movie, and they’re not wrong. I think that there’s another layer that hasn’t really been discussed much.

Ramsay spoils the ending in the first few scenes, while also laying the groundwork for our two main characters’ states in fantastic montage that melds the film’s recurring cinematography with the haunting sounds that are associated with key emotions and events. It draws you into the mystery, while also solving the mystery for you. In retrospect, the colors have intermingled to the point of incomprehension, and what was once elation turns to shame and regret. 

Jon Snow is a Targaryen

The film begins by mixing different eras in Eva’s life together to paint an almost sympathetic view of her life, while elevating the tension and setting us up for the horrors to come. People point to the opening scene from Inglorious Basterds as the best example of tension, but I think that the opening 20 minutes from We Need to Talk About Kevin does far more to raise our blood pressure.

We’re left with questions like exactly what the fuck happened that everyone hates Eva? What happened to that girl’s eye? Why does Ezra Miller look so demonic? What happened that Eva used to work at a cool office, and now works for a seedy, depressing travel agency? You already know. You don’t know what, but you know something.

The cinematography was talked about, but not awarded, and I think that that tracks because at the end of the day, I do think a lot of it was muddled, but the mise en scene speaks absolute volumes. Every sign, every poster is a clue, a little bit of storytelling. The door Eva runs from in a panic is titled ‘escape’, perhaps aptly. A poster that is poorly tacked to the wall folds over the word ‘lovers’. The yellow she wears the last time she’s in the office and is flecked about the room is no longer present in her life, except her car. In the first scene, the car is stained red from vandalism, and in the last scene, so is the yellow shirt. Little things. The world is full. The world is a story. It’s part of the story. In the scene where Kevin is presumably conceived, the lights outside the window flash between yellow and red, all while her future husband makes her promise she’ll never leave again, all while the sound of shackles (or bracelets) tinkle in the background. While Eva makes a photocopy, Franklin describes being able to feel Kevin in her belly, coming full circle to feuling peoples’ discussions about who believed Eva was at fault for Kevin’s actions because of how similar the two are. 

Tyler Durden and the Narrator are the Same Guy

In all, I think that the actual storytelling itself is what really drives our immersion and emotions for the film. It’s an incredible piece of work, and if you can get past the disturbing, depressing subject matter, I think you’ll find a rich film experience, and a complex character study, and a rewarding discussion with whomever you watched it with. Pay enough attention, and you’ll find brilliant clues all over the screen, in every shot. Ramsay and of all people, Rory Kinnear (as co writer) have done some incredible work in setting up this movie.

Now I agree that perhaps this isn’t my best review, nor may it be a great endorsement of the film, but I really think that there’s just so much depth to the storytelling and the characters that you’d find a ton to talk and think about. And what’s better than a movie that leaves you thinking about for days after? Again, if you can stomach the darker subject matter, I highly recommend this film, because I think it is

Good

I watched it on Tubi.

Wondering how my rating system works? Let me explain!