MOVIE REVIEW - Carnage

Little movies, little movies. And the new Carnage is about as little as they get.

Oh don't get me wrong, there is a good cast. Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, and Kate Winslet. But Carnage is a 70 minute, one scene flick that will not appeal to the masses in anyway shape or form. This is strictly a movie goers movie. If you go to the movies a few times a year, this will not be for you.

Carnage is the story of two couples in New York City. One is a very blue-collar family and the other is a stuffy, uptown couple. Their 11 year-old sons get into a fight at the beginning of the flick. The stuffy kid hits the other kid in the face with a stick of some kind. The kid then is going to require some dental work and medical bills, but overall everyone is fine. The couples get together as parents would, and discuss the situation and decide what to do next. Including, money, and discipline, etc... And in that living room, is where it all goes wrong.

These four people are among the most troubled people you can imagine. This never ending conversation balloons into a long, drawn out conversation, that should have ended an hour ago, and has numerous chances to do so. They fall so far off track and past the point it's becomes destructive. The two couples start to drink, and air each others dirty laundry. This becomes a highly confrontational situation where everyone is judging everyone else. The drinks kick in, someone throws up and all become borderline irrational.

Does this sound interesting to you? Probably not. And this is going to have a very hard time finding an audience. This is like watching a play. It's all dialogue - period! Some of this is quite funny, as they roll in dark comedy and irony for while. And the entire theater howled when Kate Winslet threw up for about 30 straight seconds, which was designed for big laughs with it's total absurdity.

This will leave many cold. There is not real resolution to this within these four people. But there is loud social commentary. If you go, you'll see. But only go if you are brave. This is certainly not mainstream.

Carnage. Interesting idea. A laugh or two, but overall..not so sure.