Wonderful, rich, intelligent, reminds us of what we used to think directing was. So many deep and powerful images, wonderful performances, lovely and complex.

Just in case you're impervious to irony, "Little Children" gives you one last chance to reconsider that adjective and noun, "little" and "children", when Brad(Patrick Wilson) and his skateboard part ways; when Lucy offers her mother some comforting words and a pat on the back. Yes, "Little Children" has its false moments; none more so than Sarah's insecurity about her beauty in comparison to Kathy(Jennifer Connelly), since we can all see that Kate Winslet is in the same ballpark as Connelly, a "knockout"(Brad's description of his wife) in her own right. But for the most part, "Little Children" is a smartly written, smartly acted film about, yes, angsty affluent white people, but the film is never whiny, never static, because the "little children" grow up, especially the "bully" who picks on Ronnie(Jackie Earle Haley).… Expand

Hands down, the best movie of the year. The screenplay is intelligent and well-written, the direction visionary and secure, and the performances are all superb. This movie goes in unexpected ways. Chilling and perfect. Don't miss a chance to see it.

Worth seeing for Winslet alone. Her performance is touching; lost, warm, human, utterly real... she is quite simply our finest actress. Jackie Earle Hailey is also extraordinary. Overall an engrossing if uneven movie.

Who's idea was it to have a running narrator? A bad decision that just echoes the caricatured/stereotype world Field creates. Maybe if I hadn't seen the dozen other films that deal with this subject matter with more weight and subtlety I would have been able to ignore some of the film's other weak points but in the end it's a struggle to find a single element of this film to praise.… Expand

Nothing less than a masterpiece. Wonderful actig and direction.

Wow, I really am surprised to see this movie with such a low user score. I hardly ever give a movie a 10 but Little Children blew me away. It's a character study much like Punch Drunk Love, which specializes in combining melodrama with tense, frightening scenes. Certainly slow to build, but if you appreciate the satire riddled throughout the film you don't mind. The best I saw in 2006.

The boring photography experienced in viewing Little Children was only the least of its problems. The film was an all-too-bleak, dry, uninteresting window into the world of problems associated with suburban life, including a very choppy overused view on adultery. With a script perpetually spiraling nowhere, the writers opted to slap unrealistic epiphanies into the heads of the main characters by way of "terrible accidents/tragedies averted", and then tried to create a positive spin from them, when, in actuality, the concluding moments of the film felt forced upon the viewer because the writers hit a snag in moving the story toward a satisfactory conclusion. Any comparison of this film to CRASH is very correct; if you ate the spoon-fed archetypes and messages about racism and how to "conquer it" in CRASH, then you'll really love the baseless conclusion about how to conquer the problems of suburban life in LITTLE CHILDREN. However, if you want a powerful viewing experience that delivers the goods in the end, then look to AMERICAN BEAUTY. Comparing LITTLE CHILDREN to AMERICAN BEAUTY would be a crime.… Collapse

Oh, brother; a couple of the posters here seem to have big, fat chips on their shoulders. This is a gripping, haunting film, exquisitely written, filmed, and performed. It is a fairy tale for adults, with a profound, existential moral. Field, Perrotta, and the actors do a virtuoso job of making these characters sympathetic, hateful, complex - in a word, human.

I love this movie and everything about it. Start campaigning for the Oscars!

This is an ambitious and intelligent film, with great performances and good cinematography. It is fairly intense and several performances linger in the memory. So why did I not enjoy it? The confusion between satire and drama, with the few "real" characters surrounded by a bevy of caricatures, made it difficult to take the story seriously, in fact, made it just plain weird. One moment there are gross, wide angle in the face shots of caricature "guys" on the football field, the next moment there are intensely dramatic scenes concerning death, personal grief and even dismemberment. Another huge problem is the overlay of style, expressed through the narrator, the sometimes hip ironic score, and the Gregory Crewdson-look. This style overlay ultimately undermines the dramatic edge of the performances. I like a lot of films that share some of these qualities, including Bubble, Magnolia and American Beauty. Somehow in this case it just does not add up to a satisfying or interesting experience… Expand

Best Performance of the year by far!!! Kate Winslet will blow you away!

I'll refrain from calling this film garbage, which it clearly is not. It is, however, an unfortunate series of poor decisions and missteps in execution that hamstring what could have otherwise been an incisive treatise on suburban concupiscence. Field is a filmmaker in search of a thesis, a wannabe auteur who delivers panache without purpose. One could argue that the film's problems begin on the page; the screenplay contains little insight into what drives these characters beyond the obvious pet neuroses and surface angst which have already been bludgeoned to death thematically by much better films. The only actor who delivers more than the script asks of her is Winslet, who performs an admirable bit of acting alchemy. Connelly also stands a shoulder above the rest, but like too many of the characters she's left with no gear beyond first. The fatal irony of the film is that it tries so desperately to navigate the edge and shake us up, even as we become painfully aware that Field only has the guts to play it safe. Lazy filmmaking for a lazy culture.… Expand

Masterful and moving, beautiful to watch and remarkably funny.

Unflinching in it's satirical approach to suburbia Field has created a character study that resonates long after an initial viewing. Winslet is top-notch in this film and is destined for her 5th nom. Wilson, Emmerich and Haley also add to Todd's tapestry of cinematic genius with career defining performances. This is not a film for everyone but it is definitely one that will stay in the mind and may even pose questions about perception that we dare not even ask ourselves. A+… Expand

A gem of a film. Wonderful acting, great direction and cinematography. Richly layered, a sleeper that surprised me as I hadn't really heard any buzz on it. One of the best films I've seen.

Garbage. Little Children treats you like a child, holding your hand and walking you through an atmosphere of contrived and unrealistic metaphors and dilemmas about the American suburbs. Drops your IQ to that of a three year old.

I was certainly hearing more than echoes from the more well received and, in my opinion, superior 'American Beauty' with this film. Fine performances from a stellar cast, and a piquant narrative structure draw one into this suburban canvas. The 'story book' voiceover narration provides telling details much like a novel, but could indeed be annoying and diverting to those who do not share such cinematic sensibilities. Definitely not for all tastes, but still well worth checking out!… Expand

Unsettling in the way that the best drama can be. Everything in this so-familiar tale seems freshly told and personally resonant. Bold filmmaking, a strong narrative, today's lens.

The title of this Kate Winslet movie is a triple pun, and it may take you a while to figure out how... There is "brief simulated and suggested graphic sexuality" in this film, but it is not overlong. While strictly speaking it is unnecessary, artistically it does fit the story. One of the puns, and the great value of this film is to show that committing adultery is immature, sinful, and *childish.* The use of a narrator makes this film very much like a novel, in that we know the thoughts of the characters. The "childish" theme is a great and original idea, and it is illustrated strongly in the final scenes. This one is worth checking out, and thinking about. The dvd cover proclaims it as the best film of the year. This is one of those films that stays in your head for a few days, and hits you hard as you realize the the implications of the theme and plot. Very dramatic, and really holds your attention. Dramatically, this film could be compared to AMERICAN BEAUTY and CRASH. Strongly recommended, with the above caveat. C The most important truths: "...the Word (Jesus) was God..." "...the Word (Jesus) became flesh..." >>John 1:1;14. "He who believes in the Son (Jesus) *has* everlasting life; and He who does not believe the Son (Jesus) shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." >>John 3:36. For by *grace* you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the *gift* of God, *not* of works, lest anyone should boast. >>Ephesians 2:8,9. Believe in Jesus: that He is God, that He suffered and died on the cross for all of your sins: past, present and future; that He was buried, that He physically rose from death on the third day--and you will be immediately forgiven, saved forever, and go to Heaven the minute you die.… Expand

This is a really good movie, idiots!!!!! the end is amazing if you want to see a movie where everything is fucking perfect go see Cinderella.

In a subtle way, this movie was asinine. It's well photographed and directed but none of the characters do anything that's believeable or compelling. There was the 'blind date' scene involving a sex offender that seemed totally unnecessary & ugly. The 2 main characters' choices at the end came off as silly--it was tough to care about them.

Memorable and chilling, kate winslet is perfect.

Brilliant; a tale of deception and discontent, made all the more gripping because of the way a single misstep can push someone to the edge....fearless and revealing.

In my mind this is, by far, the best American film of the year. Mr. Field has crafted yet another Masterpeice. A truely engrossing and sobering look into the human condition.

This is one of my favorite films of all time. Subversive, funny, and full of almost unbearable heart-break.

Dense, wonderfully acted. Surprising turns with interesting juxtapositions. Is it perfect? No. There are a pacing problems in certain subplots but the strengths more than make up for them. Winslet is riveting.

Excellent performances all around. Definitely no sophomore jinx for Todd Field, I suspect this film will receive many awards at the end of the year.

This is a film about puzzles, puzzles with emotional pieces where people keep

I saw this movie 2 days ago and can't stop thinking about it. Smart writing and complex characters are brought vividly to life by Director Field and his gifted cast. The end result is a haunting resonance that sticks with you like that sound of an unseen train and its warning whistle rushing somewhere in the dark night.

Extremely well-acted, particularly by Winslet, Haley and Phyllis Somerville. It is also, like "In the Bedroom," airless and ultimately lifeless. This is a rather academic exercise in filmmaking control. Yes, there is such a thing as "too perfect." This is it. And the result is, apart from a few electrifying scenes, what I imagine suffocation is like. There is no spontaneity here.

Wonderful direction and screenplay. Little Children is a very intense movie, full of sincere human feelings that can help you to see the world differently. The actors are amazing, and some of them deserve awards for their work here (Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly). "Little Children" is a very good mix between "American Beauty" and "Sex, lies, and videotape".

Boring. Poorly acted. This could have been done a lot lot better.

Imperfect, but at least it attempts greatness, which is more than can be said with most everything released during 2006.

Excellent look at suburban disfunction. Very good movie. Deserves more play time than it got in the local theathers.

Well directed and acted. Sometimes slow.

What happened with this film? Why was it so long and boring? I had a difficulty believing the actors. I didn't find any connection between the charactersw at all. Waste of time!!!!

Great performances and a steady pace overshadows the long running time. Overall, this was just an outstanding, and emotionally moving movie.

A film which reflects the harsh realities of life and everyday society. It shows life from each perspective and leaves you speechless. Little children is one of the rare films that can handle harsh topics and bring them to your attention in a way that only your own experiences could tell.

A movie about the difficulties of raising little children in young families where parents constantly experience stress, discomfort, sexual desires and disorders. Kate Winslet is absolutely boring.

The Godfather (a little), Gone with the Wind (quite a bit), Jaws (infinity plus one)...and Little Children. What've they all got in common? These are all examples of books whose movie adaptations actually beat the odds and improved on them. Tom Perrotta's contribution to the "let's visit High Property Values Heights and peek behind the doors to see all the hidden spiders and skeletons" genre is readable but falls prey to all the stumblingblocks inherent in its subject matter: its satire is leadfooted and overstated, it replaces genuine feeling for the plight of its characters with a smug, superior attitude toward them, and in general the novel makes most of the mistakes that the haters of American Beauty unjustly accused that film of making. The fact that Todd Field (In the Bedroom) works so effectually with Perrotta and his source material, managing to sweep away most of the detritus to echo Beauty's famous "Look closer" theme is doubly impressive considering that Field audaciously dares to use (and successfully pulls off) the risky device of an omniscient narrator (Will Lyman, who proves that God sounds a lot less like George Burns or Morgan Freeman or even Charlton Heston than like Philip Baker Hall) . In telling the story of a white-bread upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood whose comfort zone is shaken to the core by the arrival of convicted pedophile Ronnie McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley, who's done a lot of living since his Bad News Bears/ Breaking Away/ Tiger Beat days and whose emaciated countenance is totally contrary to Perrotta's physical description of him), Field effectively fleshes out and humanizes most of the characters, with McGorvey being the major beneficiary: a contrived whodunit angle is wisely dropped altogether, and the drastic move McGorvey makes to scare off a potential girlfriend (the great Jane Adams, demonstrating what her forlorn character from Happiness is most likely going to end up like a few years later) that he knows he'll never have a future with is done out of compassion rather than deliberate cruelty. He's a monster who knows he's one. McGorvey manages to be both a central character and a peripheral one: the movie's true focus is on the lonely, unhappily married and intellectually unfulfilled homemaker/ mother Sarah's affair with the equally frustrated "Prom King" Brad (Patrick Wilson), a househusband whose filmmaker wife (Jennifer Connelly) loves him but treats him with unconscious condesension. All the performances are highly praiseworthy, but with all due respect to Helen Mirren's superb work in The Queen, this should've been Kate Winslet's Oscar year: without sentimentalizing Sarah at all, she gives her a fierceness, an intelligence and a dignity that Perrotta largely denied her...and she does for a blood-red bathing suit what Marilyn Monroe did for a white halter dress in The Seven Year Itch. (The first person who disses Winslet's healthy figure and her admirable willingness to enjoy a serving of fish and chips every now and then gets a bucket of unbuttered popcorn lobbed at them from my section of the theater!) One thought about the title: "Little Children" has been widely thought to be an inference that the suburban parents depicted are more childlike and childish than their toddlers, but it occurred to me that it could also be an oblique reference to a mid-1960s British Invasion Top 40 single of the same name by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in which the narrator would love to go much further with his inamorata than he's able to because those damned little kids are constantly in the way. Y'think?… Expand

There is some promise here, but the characters tend towards the stereotypical; also, running time could have been at least 20 minutes shorter. Overall, the DVD box made promises the movie couldn't deliver upon.

An unusual but very good film. Kate Winslet is subtle and brilliant throughout - yet another reason she's one of my favorite actresses. The strange texture of the characters' lives in handled in a sympathetic but realistic way. They are flawed people searching for happiness, but also capable of much love and understanding. See it.

This is a well-acted film that fails to reach its potential. With more plot lines than it can develop satisfactorily, it sometimes both jumps all over the place and rambles on at a snail's pace. Watch for Jennifer Connelly's realization that Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson have been naughty. It's by far the best scene in the film.

This is by no means a remarkable film. In short, there isn't much of a story. Rather, there are several beautifully crafted character studies woven together to create an oddly compelling piece of film. While I can't pretend to recommend it for its storytelling value, I can however urge anyone to see it, if only for a few remarkable performances by the cast, especially Jackie Earle Haley's, which is positively heartbreaking.… Expand

An astounding schievement. A perfect "10". No one is more surprised than I; halfway through the film, I wasn't sure I liked it. But the gut-wrenching emotion, the true suburban terror, and the implication that we're all simply scared "little children" resonated. By film's end, I was a believer. Emotional, funny, jarring, tense and achingly sad, "Little Children" is the year's best so far. From the acting to the cinematography to the soundtrack, it's haunting perfection.… Expand

A flawlessly calibrated directorial achievement; superb script and performances; complex, haunting, and really riveting. Absolutely one of the two best pictures of the year (the other being 'Half Nelson').

9.5 (football scenes weak) otherwise a brilliant, deeply moving film. As with all great films it stays with you long after the experience of watching it. I have not seen In the bedroom but will so soon as I am in awe of Mr. Field work here.

An amazing achievement! This film gives me tremendous hope for the future of American cinema. A compelling story, masterly woven and executed in direction, writing, performances, and design. A perfectly-tuned ensemble cast. Bravo!

This is one of the most over-rated and awful films of 2006, which I can assure you was the furthest thing from my mind when I sat down to watch it. Slow and uninteresting plot, and characters as unlikeable as the ones I saw in "Friends With Money." I have no idea why everyone is so excited over Winslet and Haley...I found neither performance to be even remotely exceptional. To me the best peformances were by Connelly and Phyllis Somerville, who you don't hear very much about.… Expand

I heart Kate Winslet! Great performances and this movie is the best picture of the year!

An unusual mix of satire and melodrama which worked for me but might not for you if you (a) don't find the satire funny, or (b) find the plot manipulations too obvious and/or contrived, or (c) find the mix between the two tones unbalanced or grating. I liked it a lot, above all because of the great acting which overcomes some sketchily written roles. Todd Fields's direction is smooth if still a bit heavy-handed (though a vast improvement over In The Bedroom). Kate Winslett's American accent is the best I've ever heard from a Brit.… Expand

I love it when you go to a movie without any expectations just because it opens without any fanfare on one local screen and it turns out to be that little gem of a film that comes out of nowhere and leaves you wanting to yell to the people in line for Smokin' Aces - "Go see Little Children!! It's worth 10 bucks alot more than the dribble you're going to see!!" Little Children is brialliantly written, superbly acted,and gorgeously filmed and scored. The Oscar nominations it received are very deserving and makes you wonder if Dreamgirls was actually the most blatantly snubbed film this year. A intelligent story of disallusioned suburban life very reminiscent of American Beauty that deserves all the accolades it has recieved and much more. A top 10 film for 2006.… Expand

Brilliant expose of postmodern irresponsibility.

The narration set the tone - that of a documentary about animals in the wild. Of course, suburbia may not seem very wild (on the surface), but this film shows the most animalistic moments of human life. (Pool scene cheaply reminiscent of Jaws.)

This is a finely woven piece of film. A story with an edge that teases and does not overplay itself. This is how an ensemble piece should be made and the surprise is that Altman did not shoot this film.

Really good movie till the end. The end is just plain and simply stupid.

This is one of the most captivating films of the decade. Todd Field has created another masterpiece that is filled to the brim with lush cinematography and some of the best acting this side of the director's other film, In the Bedroom, with especially great performances coming from Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville, and Kate Winslet.

Brilliantly done, if not a bit exhausting.

The subplots are unbelievably generic, and not even done in an original way. Jackie Earle Haley's plotline is the most interesting, but as the movie progresses, it becomes sympathetic to the pedophile, and the movie's overall message seems to be about acceptance, even for someone like that. Apart from that, the acting is very overrated, even from Kate Winslet, who I usually love. Normally, I would just think this is an ordinary, annoyingly generic movie, worthy of maybe a three or a four. However, the idea of the pedophile being portrayed as a sympathetic character, and that those who deride him are considered villains, cause this movie to be an easy zero for me.… Expand

This is how you make a drama. The director's very keen way of portraying everything is quite spectacular. It is deeply thought provoking, chilling, funny, and quite scary at times thanks to the wonderful performances by the cast.