IMDb > Little Children (2006)
Little Children
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Little Children (2006) More at IMDbPro »

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Little Children (2006) -- The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.
Little Children (2006) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
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Little Children (2006) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   32,820 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Todd Field
Writers (WGA):
Todd Field (screenplay) &
Tom Perrotta (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Little Children on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 November 2006 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Plot:
The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 24 nominations more
User Comments:
Superb more (271 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong sexuality and nudity, language and some disturbing content.
Runtime:
130 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (DuArt)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The character of Bullhorn Bob (played by Raymond J. Barry) is not in Tom Perrotta's novel. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Brad is dropped at the train station, the train has "Long Island Rail Road" on the side. When Brad is picked up at the train station the station sign says "Boston", and the LIRR logo has been covered. However, the LED Destination sign on the side of the train says "Penn Station" which is the Long Island Rail Road terminal in New York City. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Lucy Pierce: Want to take a walk with me?
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) more

FAQ

Who was the narrator?
more
86 out of 132 people found the following comment useful.
Superb, 22 September 2006
10/10
Author: chocobotkid from canada

I had the pleasure of seeing the premiere of "Little Children" at Telluride. The incomprable Mr.Feild hid behind the curtain near the concession at the back of the Nugget Theater wringing his hands, looking a wee bit nauseous. It was all very endearing. The film is superb. Amongst the American fare it tops my list of films fromTelluride, next to the incomprable 'Day Night Day Night' directed by Julia Loktev.

For me, it was all about Jackie Earle Haley. Haley sneaks onto the screen 45 minutes into the narrative bursting the happy bubble of familiar ups and downs of married with children life. The result unnerving edgy tension that could be cut with a knife. Haley's performance is vulnerable, awkward and possibly the strongest male role to light up the screen this year. Haley deserves accolades, praise and loads of attention. He's been a favorite darling of mine for ages...something I had the good fortune of recounting to Feild after the screening.

Feild provides many questions and very few answers. Haley's character may have been released from jail for indecent exposure to a minor, yet Feild does a delicate balancing act without faltering on the side of "good guy/ bad guy". This is NOT a film about pedophiles. This is a film about faults, judgments, weaknesses that consume, chew one up and spits you out again. And in the end the entire paradigm of suburban life has been twisted, shaken, pushed and pulled.

There is tragedy, openness, shifts, that do not add up to ultimate conclusions. This complex tale weaves passion, disillusionment, love, lust, desire, ambivalence. But most importantly, the tender web of Mother-Child relations, WITHOUT ever vilifying Mother. Feild breaks from this poisonous, obsessive, castrating, oedipal mother-subject paradigm and addresses the people who float in and out of crisis above and beyond being tied to their social roles and traditional moral codes.

Winslet encapsulates the awkward intellectual mom, who loves her daughter, but has very very human ambivalence towards this 24/7 duty of unconditional love/acceptance and never ending giving. Finally, she decides to give something back to herself, by playing out a torrid love affair with the Prom King (Patrick Wilson) another character ripe with flaws and exudes humanness.

This should win many many many accolades for 2006, it's a rare stand out. A powerful disturbingly familiar tale played out eloquently, and held at benign distance via the brilliant use of odd narration. It's a strange convention, but Feild masters this as he skewers and satirizes and describes it's subjects with authority. The narration was pleasantly reminiscent of "Fishing with John", often obvious, but nicely pushing the plot along with often more than a hint of humor. The serious tone of the narrator serves to punctuate the utter ridiculous paradox of the banalities of being 'married with children' and having a flashy adventurous love affair in and around the locations of everyday stay at home summer existence; the park, the pool, the evening football game.

The Affair never reveals itself as the be-all-and-end-all, answer to disillusionment and sadness of suburban middle class marriage. Nor, the cause-effect that sets the plot in motion. Even more satisfyingly, the affair does not legitimate the happy normative narrative ending.

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