Looking up the details of “Carnage” for the little box that accompanies this review, I did a double take: This movie really has a running time of only 80 minutes? It felt like it was longer. So much longer. As painful as it was for the two couples in this story to meet and spend, it seems, 80 minutes together, it was even more brutal for the audience.
And that means “Carnage” has a huge plot hole. Why, I kept wondering, do the characters played by Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz find it impossible to leave the home of those played by Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly? And why do Foster and Reilly keep inviting to stay a man who repeatedly stops the conversation with them and has another, equally loud and almost as irritating, on his cell phone? These questions are unanswerable.
| On screen |
| ‘Carnage’ |
| 1 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly |
| Director: Roman Polanski |
| Rated: R for language |
| Running time: 80 minutes |
It’s quite something that a movie with an ensemble cast like that — and no one else steals any screen time — can be such a burden to watch. Director Roman Polanski continues to shock us, I suppose.
He adapted “Carnage” from the play “God of Carnage,” along with its author, French writer Yasmina Reza. Almost nothing has been done to turn the piece of theater into a piece of cinema. It is four people in a room, arguing. Their argument isn’t the least bit interesting.
Winslet and Waltz’s son hit Foster and Reilly’s son with a stick at the playground, resulting in an injury and some dental work. The couples are meeting to “talk things out,” you might say. Class differences are immediately apparent: Waltz is a lawyer, Winslet an investment broker. Foster’s a writer, while Reilly sells housewares. But as the conversation develops — though “develop” is too kind a word — the teams keep changing. First it’s couple against couple; later it’s men against women; later it’s something else still.
There is some good camera work now and then. A shot in which Reilly is the one doing the talking, but Winslet listening is the focus of the screen, is one example. That’s about the only positive thing I can say about this film.
Foster’s character is simply insufferable, with lines like “We’re all citizens of the world” and “We really believe culture can be such a powerful force for peace.” Waltz’s frequent phone calls with those back in the office are as tedious for us to hear as for those in the same room as him. I’m sorry these fine actors had to go through the experience of making such a terrible movie — but that doesn’t mean others should have to relive it.
