The kids are alright, the adults are not

Carnage

Director Roman Polanski Screenwriters Yasmina Reza (play), Roman Polanski Cast Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz

Get ready for the craziest, most intense, and unforgettable ride of this year. Yes, Polanski’s latest Carnage is a force to be reckoned with; which is odd, mostly because of its incredibly modest running time (79 minutes), small cast (four key characters), single set (a New York apartment), and what appears to be a straightforward plot. But based on the Tony Award winning play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, this is a deceptively simple film that has so much energy and power to dish out, even in its tiny scale. So get ready – for a hot-tempered, scream-filled, foul-mouthed, alcohol-fuelled, vomit-covered (yes, really) experience that will be hard to resist.

In a brief prologue set in contemporary New York, we see an 11-year-old Zachary pick up a stick and swing it in Nathan’s face, which results in bruising, swelling and two teeth being knocked out. Zachary’s parents, Nancy (Winslet) and Alan (Waltz), are invited over by Nathan’s parents, Penelope (Foster) and Michael (Reilly), to discuss this situation in good faith. What was supposed to be a civilised, calm meeting between four mature people start taking darker turns, as true characteristics and feelings are revealed.

What makes this so agonising, yet irresistibly tense, is the fact that this encounter could have been over in minutes. Nancy and Alan could have left Penelope and Michael’s flat so much sooner. They get to as far as the elevator, twice, and yet every time, they end up in the living room. The bitter hatred and unfinished business make it difficult to call it a day. It’s almost perverse and sometimes scary to think that these people cannot and refuse to leave; and no-one does claustrophobia better than Polanski. Even though this may seem a highly unambitious project for a director who has made many classics over his astonishing career, his attention to detail is impeccable. He gets right up close to his actors, and the apartment in which most of the film is set seems sizable enough, but Polanski chooses to remain mainly in the living room, crowding his scenes with his four stars.

Small verbal attacks and passive-aggressive statements are the reasons why there can be no simple resolution. Even from the very start, the victim’s mother is defensive and secretly mad as hell. She has a condescending tone, something the perpetrator’s father is far from willing to accept. Boys fight. It’s a part of life, and he’s not prepared to apologise so profusely. Trying to control her husband’s snarky outbursts is the perpetrator’s mother, who tries to show as much genuine-looking apologetic expression as possible. But even she has a breaking point. Acting as the good-natured mediator is the victim’s father, who tries to put on a smile whenever possible. But he too has issues of his own, and as everyone mouths off, he joins the fight and shows he also has a louder side.

As the Scotch comes out, and with the high alcohol dose kicking in, there’s swearing, crying, yelling, hitting, throwing things, and behaviour that is unacceptable in any social scenarios involving grown ups. They gathered to come up with a disciplinary plan of action for their children. But it appears the adults are no better than the children themselves. The script is crisp enough to keep a healthy pace and the heavy dialogue-centred drama is extremely dense yet to the point.

The four acting heavy-weights who make up the cast pull out all the stops and ferociously attack one another as the meltdown occurs. Waltz is hilarious as the smug, cavalier Alan, Winslet may seem proper and decent to start with but as the atmosphere starts to spiral out of control, she drunkenly chews the scenery like never before. Foster is on the offence from the start, and she is the angriest, most intense one of the four, which results in some dangerous moments of melodramatic over-acting coming from the actress, but she is mostly on fine form. Reilly, with his towering presence, fi lling up almost every single shot of himself with his grand stature, is incredible, as he handles both extreme sides of his character perfectly, making that transition without any fuss.

For a man nearing the age of 80, Polanski doesn’t show signs of slowing down. He keeps the tension running high, and there is no way of knowing for sure how this messy situation will come to a close. Carnage is outrageous, shocking, yet hysterically entertaining with plenty of nasty, wicked wit. With four unique performances from its unbeatable cast, and under the assured guidance of a veteran director, this is may have “Oscar-bait” written all over it but no bait in the past has been this savagely funny.