Carnage (2011)
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 168
Fresh: 121 | Rotten: 47
It isn't as compelling on the screen as it was on the stage, but Carnage makes up for its flaws with Polanski's smooth direction and assured performances from Winslet and Foster.
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 45
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 21
It isn't as compelling on the screen as it was on the stage, but Carnage makes up for its flaws with Polanski's smooth direction and assured performances from Winslet and Foster.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 19,591
My Rating
Movie Info
Carnage is a razor sharp, biting comedy centered on parental differences. After two boys duke it out on a playground, the parents of the "victim" invite the parents of the "bully" over to work out their issues. A polite discussion of childrearing soon escalates into verbal warfare, with all four parents revealing their true colors. None of them will escape the carnage. -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics
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Cast
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Jodie Foster
Penelope Longstreet -
Kate Winslet
Nancy Cowan -
Christoph Waltz
Alan Cowan -
John C. Reilly
Michael Longstreet -
Elvis Polanski
Zachary -
Eliot Berger
Ethan -
Joseph Rezwin
Walter -
Nathan Rippy
Dennis -
Tanya Lopert
Mother -
Julie Adams
Secretary
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Carnage Trailer & Photos
All Critics (170) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (122) | Rotten (47) | DVD (4)
Brief, brutal and barmy.
Top CriticWhere previously we felt as trapped in Polanski's apartments as his characters, in Carnage we only ever peek in through the window.
The actors seem to have fun, particularly Foster, working against type as the thoroughly unlikable Penelope. But "Carnage" isn't nearly as bloody as it thinks it is.
What are supposed to be transgressive observations about the holy state of parenthood and matrimony instead come across as self-satisfied and shallow as the pieties Reza intends to puncture.
In real life, hyper-controlling metropolitan parents would not waste this much time on people they loathe.
The astonishing Waltz steals the picture, possibly because he's the one with a rational perspective (despite his telephonic obsessiveness): He sees the whole exercise as pointless. Ultimately, so do we.
This is an actors' movie, although it's not always pleasant. Waltz has the most fun, and is the most enjoyable to watch. He also exchanges dialogue with Winslet that best sums up the story's absurdist nature: "Why are we still in this house?"
[Polanski] has crafted a bizarre little film that runs only about 75 minutes, uses one location, and only four characters who spend most of the film sitting/standing around talking or shouting at each other, yet the film is engaging and entertaining.
Carnage is ... very accessible, really enjoyable and, thanks mostly to a brilliant cast with an undeniable talent for comedy, really rather funny.
Given the powerhouse performers involved, this thing should have gone off like a powder keg, but [director Roman] Polanski apparently directed the film by text...A terrible film.
Carnage is neatly directly, sharply scripted and outstandingly performed drama. It's voyeuristic, it's relevant and it's hilarious.
A delightfully uncivilised car-crash of a meeting.
I thought the highlight of the film was after the guests eat Foster's homemade fruit cobbler, Winslet vomits over hubby and Foster's precious coffee table books.
Carnage is ... more of a curiosity than a major experience - but it's fun and funny, and sometimes that's enough.
Parents and married couples, especially, will get a lot out of the biting commentary in Carnage. Not a cinematic triumph but a good way to flex the frontal lobe of your brain for a bit.
Each character seems to be rushing through their arguments and it's as if every single word has been over thought.
The only thing worse than watching good actors turn in bad performances is witnessing a good director go with the motions, which is exactly what Polanski does here.
Although the play isn't quite as successful or penetrating on screen, it works as an entertainingly vicious doubles tennis match between two pairs of terrific actors.
Polanski hasn't had this much fun in years and neither, by the looks of things, has his cast. A wickedly dark delight.
The screenplay develops beautifully as layer after layer of civilised behaviour is pared back. The awkward interaction of parents about their boys switches gear to become a hostile interaction of couples about their inner demons and relationship struggles
It's fascinating, confronting and often extremely funny in the way only real life situations can be
Foster and Winslet have to endure total mental breakdowns and disintegrate their characters' closely guarded personas. Although it hardly needs to be said at this point in their decorated careers, they're fantastic.
full review at Movies for the Masses
Audience Reviews for Carnage
Super Reviewer
The plot here focuses on the aftermath of a fight between two kids on a playground. The parents of the 'victim' invite the parents of the 'bully' over to their home for a discussion of how to handle the situation/raise children in general. Over the course of no more than a few hours, their conversation goes from polite to all out savage, with each person turning on the other, showing their true colors, and illustrating how a little disagreement can cause a lot of carnage.
Aside from outdoor shots at the park that serve as bookends, the rest of the film takes place in the rooms (and extremely briefly) the hallway of the apartment of Michael and Penelope Longstreet (John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster)- the parents of the 'victim'. Given this set up, and how there's not really any cinematic flourishes going on, the film's success is absolutely dependent upon the writing and acting. This film is really almost nothing but talking, but man is it some juicy stuff.
Besides the previously mentioned Reilly and Foster, the other parents, Nancy and Alan Cowan, are played by Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz. Given that this is directed by Polanski, and features three Oscar winners (one of them a double), and an Oscar nominee, this has to be good. Has to. And thankfully, it mostly is.
Reilly might be the weakest link here, but I think he's robably the funniest and most easy to relate to. Everyone gets their moments, but even though Reilly might be the most relatable, none of them are totally sympathetic, and the film makes it difficult to discern who should be rooted for, if anyone. That's what I liked about it. Each one has a good side, and they're all well-rounded, but it's their savagery and flaws that stick out most (probably on purpose), and seeing four not totally sympathetic people act horrible has a perversely dark joy to it., with a big chunk of the laughs being of the dark variety to begin with.
Yeah, this is a polarizing movie, and won't be for everyone, but it is a great display of acting, and seeing these specific performers in the roles is what helps make it great. I do think the conclusion is anti-climactic, and could have been better handled, and maybe the film shouldn't have been book ended by moments outside the apartment, but still, this film is kinda gutsy. It's certainly not boring, but I was really left wanting more after it was done, and not exactly in a good way, either. It's certainly fun while it lasts, even if it is quite brief.
Super Reviewer
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- Penelope Longstreet: I don't get drunk.
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- Nancy Cowan: WHY ARE WE STILL IN THIS HOUSE?!
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- Nancy Cowan: I am glad our son kicked the s**t out of your son and I wipe my ass with your 'human rights'!
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- Nancy Cowan: Do you think it was the cobbler?
- Alan Cowan: Of course it was. A little warm Coke and BANG!
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- Alan Cowan: I saw your friend Jane Fonda on TV the other day. Made me want to run out and buy a poster from the Ku Klux Klan.
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- Michael Longstreet: We're born alone and we die alone.... who wants a scotch?
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| After a good start, becomes utterly pointless and contrived | 35 days ago | 1 |
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Foreign Titles
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