We Need to Talk About Kevin

When one can say we are thinking about the power of authority we first think of an adult, specifically a parent which includes the relationship between a son and a mother, but what if we saw our mom as something else? Is an adult someone we should perhaps hate? Why should we look at them differently? These questions are answered in the film, We Need to Talk About Kevin, directed by Lynne Ramsey. The main two actors in this film are Erza Miller who plays Kevin Khatchadourian, while Tilda Swinton plays Eva Khatchadourian. This is, in my opinion, by far one of the most underrated films that goes into the dynamic of mother and son relationships. When it comes to shock factor and perspective telling as well as relationships, this movie raises the big question about nature vs. nurture: do we become who we are based on our life experiences and upbringing? Or can it be planted biologically? Obviously if we want to look at reality it is based on life experience however what catches my interest is how a person can be born evil by nature. 

So what is it about Nature vs Nurture that pulls me in so much sparking my interest? It comes from the curiosity of how nature can determine who a person becomes long term, nurture can be understood but also misinterpreted so either one still contributes to the outcome of the person. This subject is greatly presented as this applies to our main antagonist Kevin, who is one of those characters that represents a nihilistic psychopath. Not only does he have a warped perception of reality, but a tendency to bring psychological and physical harm to those he feels have no worth or who he feels are a potential threat in his eyes. From the beginning of this film we see the mother  in her first years of raising Kevin at a young age as he quickly shows unhealthy detachment, lack of empathy, and violent tendencies. From Eva's perspective she feels like she has done something wrong and tries to use other approaches but none work out as Kevin either or doesn’t show compliance. We cut to Eva in bed staring blankly at her window as the lighting in the room is a bright red and then there is a time skip. We transition to Eva, her husband, and the younger sister with Kevin who is now in his teen years as he grows more bitter towards his mother holding more resentment but we don’t know why he shows this or his motive yet. he has taken an interest in archery and another hobby of tormenting his younger sister or Eva, as the only person he shows admiration or “his love” to is his father. We see the interactions between an older Kevin and Eva as in moments all she can do is stare at her son which Kevin returns but with a sense of uneasy tension when they lock eyes. Building up at the halfway point Kevin begins inflicting pain and discomfort on his mother psychologically which include, spraying ink on her maps, manipulating her, mocking her when she’s positive, and sending her a link that’s a virus encrypting that destroys her computer. Kevin's lack of care and empathy shows his actions as he puts on the facade of a good boy around his father who is clueless about who his son really is, but we also feel this tension as if he’s preparing for something foreshadowed by multiple scenes depicting him practicing archery with his bow and arrow. 

Psychological thriller films generally have twists and the element of surprise when compared to other psychological thrillers, this film is really good at showing imagery that can trigger the viewer as this doesn’t show or need gore in order to scare you. Many films like The Sixth Sense, 1408, Escape Room, use the same tactic of twists we don’t or can’t figure out until the end. What really shaped my judgment and surprised me the most is one scene in particular. After two years, when Eva visits her son on the anniversary of the massacre where Kevin committed mass murder at his school on his classmates, we see Kevin once again but this time his good-boy facade is now gone. Eva asks him how he is and Kevin eventually responds. He says “it’s like this you wake up and you watch tv. Get in your car and you listen to the radio. You go to your little job or your little school, but you're not going to hear about that on the 6 o'clock news. Why? Because nothing is really happening. Then you go home and you watch some more TV or maybe it's a fun night, you go out and you watch a movie. I mean, it's got so bad that half the time the people on TV, inside the TV, they're watching TV! And what are all these people watching? People like me” and “I used to think I knew… Now I'm not so sure.” This makes the viewer question if he turned out like this evil due to his mother in his eyes warping him? Or was he biologically born to be evil? What I understood from these words is that he used to know the reasons for why he did these acts but now from serving time in jail he has thought about his actions but couldn’t find the answer. There’s a silence between them as Eva steps in close to Kevin and embraces him as finally Kevin hugs her back. Finally some degree of love is shown as Eva walks in the hallway towards a white light at the end. She now is ruined with Kevin finally getting what he wanted in the end.

A film like this is what perfectly sums up how much mental health and relationships can play a big part in the world we know today, as we know many people deal with disorders such as anti social personality disorder, a common diagnosis. the type of audience this would be perfectly fit for parents and an audience who is fascinated by analyzing the hidden messages in films.