Carnage

I'm always wary of a film that is adapted from a play; they are two very different mediums and although there are some notable successes (Shakespeare tends to transcend well), it can be a tricky and fraught process.  Plays tend to require a response from the audience whereas films don't and this can generally be where a play fails to transcend onto the screen easily.

Carnage is based on the play God of Carnage which I have seen in London's West End. The play is excellent and when I saw the cast list for the film, I had some hopes for it.

The story is about two couples whose eleven year old boys have had a fight, resulting in one child sustaining a serious facial injury. The couples have come together to discuss how best to reconcile the boys and move on.

Michael and Penelope Longstreet (John C. Reilly and Jody Foster) host the meeting at their apartment, and are keen to find an explanation and apology for their son's injury from Alan and Nancy Cowan (Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet) who in the beginning, are very well-meaning and anxious to resolve the issues.

The film moves on as the civility between the four breaks down and the flaws that each individual has are shown. This leads to each individual going through the gauntlet of emotions and the constant switching of allegiances within the four characters.

The film is set in an apartment and the only characters are the two couples. This immediately creates an unwanted claustrophobic effect which continues throughout the film. The dialogue is stilted and feels forced and there were a number of opportunities for the Cowans to leave that were not taken for very unrealistic reasons.

Foster starts the film on 'shrill' and doesn't seem to move from that level and Winslet just looks bored in all honesty. I have no time for Reilly whatsoever, but I have to concede that Waltz was the real star of the film, he has perfect comic timing and was absolutely brilliant, particularly in the exchanges with Foster.

Verdict: Claustrophobic and uncomfortable film with Foster being particularly unbearable with her bulging veins and shrill voice. Waltz made it just about watchable. The play is so much better.