Little Children - Wonderful movie

I can't believe I have only just watched this. And, to make matters worse, I very nearly turned it off after about a quarter of an hour. The film is about two couples, both trapped in their own loveless (but not bad/abusive - or any other cliche we normally see in Hollywood's definition of 'bad' relationships) marriages.

From the start we get some form of `narration' from a character never seen in the film. I found this kind of off-putting at first as it tells you what characters are thinking and I thought it was a lazy way at skipping through finding things out about characters as a viewer. However, this narration basically disappears more and more as the film progresses and, in my opinion, is the right thing to do (although it sort of returns as the film begins to wrap up, which almost made me forget that it had started out this way to begin with).

The film is long - just over two hours and it gets better and better. Everyone's performance is brilliant and there's little negative to say about it.  Patrick Wilson and Kate Winslet are the two main characters (and the pair destined to have an extra-marital relationship) and therefore get the most screen time and development.  However, there are plenty of other characters in the film who have far less screen time and yet feel completely real and not at all just a cliche (a rare feat for any film!).  Everyone seems to go on a journey and I won't go into the plot too deep as there are some areas you may not see coming.  Special mention to Jackie Earl Haley to is as awesome as ever, despite being in the film for possibly the least amount of time of all the stars.

There are, as the title implies, 'children' involved in the story.  However, I found there are two ways of looking at this.  There's the literal interpretation as both Wilson and Winslet have on-screen children from their existing marriages.  However, there's also an argument about how the 'children' are in fact the adults for 'playing' as much as their offspring.  That's one for the viewers to decide.  I will say that the (real) children in the film aren't in it that much, therefore the film never suffers from any kids' bad acting.  So, if you're into adult drama about relationships that are very bittersweet, then this one is for you.

Although, be warned, a happy-happy, feel-good movie this is not.  Too much like real life.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather