Todd Field's recent suburban drama, based on Tom Perrotta's novel, frolics like the ridiculously horny housewives of the massively successful Desperate Housewives and seduces like the funny but dark American Beauty. Nonetheless, Little Children has the credibility to become one of the year's movies but the plot itself was shamefully incarcerated behind its own bars, minimizing its emotional potency. Kate Winslet shines (again) sharply but just like a knife, she is in a movie that has its own dull edges.

It started with a narration, voice deep and menacing and one just couldn't help but recognise its scene patterns where suburban wives sit on the playground benches, having the daily schmooze and gossips while their children gallops unendingly over the grasses. Desperate Housewives might find this too - unoriginal. Then there's Sarah (Kate Winslet), who refused to be called a suburban wife and boasts a master's degree in literature. She's not the smartest person in the world but she's not stupid either. In fact, as how the title of this film came about, it's about a tale of children in their 30s, 40s or 50s, post-pubescent people who choose not to live mature lives but plays in the dangerous games of sex, adultery, lust and obsession. We might see children playing in the parks, swimming in the pool, but it's the adults that behave annoyingly - just like little children who don't know their limits and the dangers they are into.

The wives are ostensibly infatuated by this local househusband named Brad (Patrick Wilson) who comes into the playgrounds with his son. He's the one in which they consider the Prom King, the Golden Boy... but no one gets his number until Sarah came along. 5 bucks bet. That's what it takes. Silly how old children play games. And without more hassle, they clicked on. Everyone knows Brad is married and everyone knew he had a perfect family - but he had a manipulative wife named Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a documentary filmmaker, who loves the child she was doing a documentary with than her own child beside her.

Secrets dwells within each houses and in one corner in the street, there's Ronald James McGorvey or Ronnie (Jackie Earle Haley) who was indicted as a pedophile, recently released from prison. Children weren't safe from the streets and his mother keeps on plugging the holes his own sons dig, and hiding the mistakes he had done. Larry (Noah Emmerich), an ex-cop, feels like a neighborhood superhero and starts a campaign that covers the whole town with flyers identifying Ronnie as the child molester.Little Children is actually not a bad piece of film. It's just that it's ridiculous. Sarah is a woman, belittled by her own husband's fornicated dreams, and unleashed the playful child in her wanting to desire something sweet. But she considers her own child as an alien and does silly things here and there. She's even much closer to Madam Bovary than her own kid. She and Brad then starts to flirt with each other like children and dream of a future together.

The great thing in this film is that it shows there are indeed little children trapped within body of adults and sometimes, all of us could be foolish and could do silly things without worrying the consequences. The worst thing in this film was that it gives us an anti-climax. It's denouement just leaves us shocked but unmoved. But hell, the beautiful Kate Winslet absolutely stuns us with another graceful and fiery performance. Young as she is, she's the only person in the recent years who has a record of 5 Oscar nominations below the age of 30. Now that's some career.


Rating: B-