We Need To Talk About Kevin: Notes
Nine study areas for A-Level Film Studies
1. Film form
2. Meaning & response
3. Contexts
4. Spectatorship
5. Narrative
6. Ideology
7. Auteur
8. Critical debates
9. Filmmakers' theories
The study ares for We Need To Talk About Kevin:
1. Film form
2. Meaning & response
3. Contexts
5. Narrative
6. Ideology
Pictures show Kevin and Eva are more distant from each other than usual mother and children are
WNTTAK Questions:
- What do Eva & Franklin sacrifice in order to have children?
- On the rare occasions all 4 members of Eva's family are together, how do they interact? Who seems to be 'in charge'?
- What important things do Eva's family not do that might have led them to falling apart?
- How has Kevin changed in the final scene? Consider costumes, make-up, acting, plot & dialogue
- What answers do Eva, the film or any other character offer in explanation for Kevin's violent acts?
Eva - an unreliable narrator?
- Common device in lit & film is 'unreliable narrator'
- When a book/film is narrated from one or several people's point of view, the protagonist's explanation of events can be called into question
- In film particularly, unreliable narrator can be exposed through stylised direction, acting or plot twists
- Device often used to intrigue, excite & shock the viewer & make them reconsider events they may previously consider true
- While Eva doesn't literally narrate the film, events are definitely shown from her viewpoint
- Popular film examples of unreliable narrator: Barry Lyndon, Sunset Boulevard, American Psycho, Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, Identity & The Sixth Sense
Clues in film that events are exaggerrated or over-simplified & Eva is an unreliable narrator:
- Franklin's attitude throughout the film
- Events leading to Celia's eye injury
- Kevin's manipulative & cruel behaviour from such a young-age
- Acting styles
- Mise en scene
- Eva's culpability
Blood on Eva's hands:
- Red is a prevalent colour in mise en scene
- From the religious ecstasy of La Tomatina Festival in the opening scene, to Eva constantly scraping red paint off her house & even in mudane household objects, there's hardly a frame without red in it
- Ironically despite the horrifying events in the film, barely any blood is shown -> a characteristic shared with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Look for: notable red items or objects seen throughout & the effect they have. Also look for what red signifies and others film red is important include Don't Look Now, Schindler's List & The Sixth Sense -> what thematic importance does red have in these films?
-
1. Film form
2. Meaning & response
3. Contexts
4. Spectatorship
5. Narrative
6. Ideology
7. Auteur
8. Critical debates
9. Filmmakers' theories
The study ares for We Need To Talk About Kevin:
1. Film form
2. Meaning & response
3. Contexts
5. Narrative
6. Ideology
Pictures show Kevin and Eva are more distant from each other than usual mother and children are
WNTTAK Questions:
- What do Eva & Franklin sacrifice in order to have children?
- On the rare occasions all 4 members of Eva's family are together, how do they interact? Who seems to be 'in charge'?
- What important things do Eva's family not do that might have led them to falling apart?
- How has Kevin changed in the final scene? Consider costumes, make-up, acting, plot & dialogue
- What answers do Eva, the film or any other character offer in explanation for Kevin's violent acts?
Eva - an unreliable narrator?
- Common device in lit & film is 'unreliable narrator'
- When a book/film is narrated from one or several people's point of view, the protagonist's explanation of events can be called into question
- In film particularly, unreliable narrator can be exposed through stylised direction, acting or plot twists
- Device often used to intrigue, excite & shock the viewer & make them reconsider events they may previously consider true
- While Eva doesn't literally narrate the film, events are definitely shown from her viewpoint
- Popular film examples of unreliable narrator: Barry Lyndon, Sunset Boulevard, American Psycho, Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, Identity & The Sixth Sense
Clues in film that events are exaggerrated or over-simplified & Eva is an unreliable narrator:
- Franklin's attitude throughout the film
- Events leading to Celia's eye injury
- Kevin's manipulative & cruel behaviour from such a young-age
- Acting styles
- Mise en scene
- Eva's culpability
Blood on Eva's hands:
- Red is a prevalent colour in mise en scene
- From the religious ecstasy of La Tomatina Festival in the opening scene, to Eva constantly scraping red paint off her house & even in mudane household objects, there's hardly a frame without red in it
- Ironically despite the horrifying events in the film, barely any blood is shown -> a characteristic shared with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Look for: notable red items or objects seen throughout & the effect they have. Also look for what red signifies and others film red is important include Don't Look Now, Schindler's List & The Sixth Sense -> what thematic importance does red have in these films?
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