Deconstructing the rules of society

Carnage (2011)
Certified: 14
Duration: 79 minutes
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Starring: Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz
KRS release

An adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s play God of Carnage, Roman Polanski’s film never strays from its stage origins and settings.

It brings to the screen a set of powerful character studies and a unique portrayal of human nature as the shreds of society are shorn away.

Carnage is about two couples, actually two sets of parents who in their confrontation with each other learn some rather crude things about themselves.

When two boys clash at a park and one of them hits the other, the parents meet in a Brooklyn apartment to see what has happened and sort out their differences.

Michael and Penelope Longstreet (John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster), the parents of the boy lashing out and hitting, visit Alan and Nancy Cowan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz).

What was supposed to be a short visit turns out to be an interminable series of fights, verbal exchanges, alcohol, cold truths and hard-hitting revelations.

Mr Polanski deftly brings the social conflicts between the characters to the fore as the film moves to the rhythm of the dialogue and the screen performances.

The director is helped in no small way by his cast, who dig deep and uncover the shades of the monster that lies in each one of their characters.

This is a sharp black comedy which is directed with pinpoint precision that leaves no space for error; each word and action is slowly amplified and further leads the protagonists down a path of social and moral chaos.

What starts off as a couple against another couple, playing to the rules of decency and civilisation, turns into a battle of the sexes that takes us back to the caveman days.

It’s also very interesting to see how the characters always inhabit the close confines of the apartment where this battle is played out.

They have a high level of self awareness, are highly intelligent, constantly analyse themselves, others and the situation, and as such feel they are being disrobed of their vestige of social constraints.

The strength of the film’s combined acting and direction creates a very tangible feel to the word chaos and delves deep into the meaning of the words “polite” and “manners”.

The film and the way it is directed necessitates that all the cast is on top of their game thus bringing out the group effort which is necessary to pull off this excellent script work.

As an ensemble cast this foursome really deliver with astounding effectiveness.

Ms Winslet’s final development is hilarious; Ms Foster is almost impeccable in her vestige of perfection while Mr Reilly is the face of the common person who takes his character to another level.

Mr Waltz is perfect like the mechanism of a Swiss watch, as he shows that the dark comic timing he showed in Inglourious Basterds was not a fluke.

The film delivers one laugh after another yet it never lets us savour the humour comfortably.

It rather prefers to shock its audience, making us more self aware of our ignorance where the people surrounding us and what makes them tick are concerned.

This all about uttering the wrong words, about misplaced tones and it all goes to show how the reins of social political correctness are such an artificial mechanism.