Little Children

 Okay I said I wasn't going to do this, but while I write I sometimes draw inspiration from good films, and "Little Children" is one of those films. The film was released mid 2006, and had a limited release. It did open to some very good reviews, and for a week or two had a bigger opening, but it quickly faded from the theater screens after awhile. The movie stars Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, and Patrick Wilson. It is about a womens affair with another married man and the events that transpire in small sleepy surburban town. I can't say enough about this film. From the cinematography by Antonio Calvache. To the directing of Todd Field. Everything rings true. Maybe it's because Fields shares screenwriting credit Tom Perrotta the author of the novel. The performances are all played well, and is an example of the power of silence. Throughout the film we have a feeling that we know where this is story is going to go, but in the end it doesn't. That surprised me, and I enjoyed the surprise. A great performance is given by Jackie Earle Haley who plays of all things a convicted sex offender. Todd Field hits this one out of the park, and like his previous film "In the Bedroom" the film is a good example of not the spoken word, but the moments in film where silence is the most powerful thing. Fields does give us a narrator for the story giving it a sort of documentary feel, and this is only because the narrator is Will Lyman who is known for narrating numerous PBS "NOVA" and "Frontline" episodes. I've always been told that using a narrator can take the viewer out of the picture and prevent him or her from suspending belief, but it works here, and after seeing a couple of films that use it successfully I don't know if the arguement has any merit. Anyway the film "Little Children" is now out on DVD, and on-demand, so it's worthwhile seeing. I don't think you'll regret seeing it.