Eat, Drink, Men, Women

CARNAGE (2011)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A French play that takes place inside of an apartment for 80 minutes? Most film directors might be inclined to open up the proscenium of a play by introducing the outside world. Not Roman Polanski who has managed to make a brisk, funny, darkly comic movie out of something almost mundane on the surface.

Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly) are the parents of a child, Zachary, that was struck in the mouth with a stick by his friend. We see this event transpire in the opening sequence and are startled by the abrupt violence, but we also see how it is almost a childlike moment of two kids who just don't know better (the scene is silent with music layed in so that we don't know if Zachary provoked his friend or not). The Longstreets invite Zachary's friend's parents, the Cowans (played by Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet), to discuss the matter. What follows is their conversations that extend beyond the kids and more on their distinctive personalities. Mr. Cowan is an attorney who is beset by one cell phone call after another and cannot be bothered by this incident. Mrs. Cowan is upset by the incident, her husband's lack of manners and hopes for some sort of truce, but her true colors are revealed when she drinks alcohol. The Longstreets want to make nice with "pleasant serenity" by making cobbler with apples and pears (I'd like to try that), espresso and a vase of tulips. Michael sells kitchen items whereas Penelope is a writer, works part-time in a bookstore, and is very politically correct. What could go wrong?

Adapted from Yasmina Reza's comedy play of manners entitled "God of Carnage," "Carnage" is exceptionally well-made and perfectly crafted by Roman Polanski. He is the only director, as proven with his other adaptation of a play "Death of a Maiden" that was also confined to one setting, that can hold the tension inside a room for maximum impact. I do not know how Polanski does it but no shot ever looks the same, from the spacious living room to the bathroom which are the only two rooms where the action takes place (aside from two brief shots of the hallway to the elevator). His framing of the actors also changes brilliantly, particularly where one actor is in the foreground in contrast to someone else in the background. Into the fray of claustrophobia are some of our finest actors, including Jodie Foster whose Penelope character is more shrill and more human than anyone else. John C. Reilly once again proves he is a master of comic subtlety, particularly his shift from a caring, gentle man to a rough loudmouth. Christoph Waltz also excels in dialing it down, and the way he eats cobbler reminded me of the dramatic tension of his eating habits in "Inglorious Basterds." Kate Winslet is the only actor who feels a little off in the translation - too histrionic for my tastes which might have suited the play more than the film.

"Carnage" is lucidly written and directed with an appropriately abrupt finish. The whole film is timed and paced just right, but it is more of a lark for Polanski than the masterstroke of his grandly thrilling "The Ghost Writer." Still, a near-great Polanski film is miles better than no Polanski film.