Roman Polanski has co-adapted Yasmin Reza’s Tony Award Winning play ‘God of Carnage’ into a movie and despite the performances and Reza’s wonderful words it does still feel very much like a play that just happens to have been filmed.
All the action takes place in a very comfortable high-rise apartment in Brooklyn on one afternoon. Two married successful couples are meeting to discuss an unfortunate incident between their two 11-year-old sons. The Longstreet’s child Zachary was injured so they are the hosts, and Penelope the wife/mother, is determined to make a big drama out of the whole thing. Nancy Cowan the other mother meets her strident nature initially quite compassionately, but as the afternoon progresses she lets her guard down and her conciliatory tone soon disappears.
Mr. Cowan is a cynical corporate lawyer who is trying to defuse a business crisis which results in his cellphone ringing off the hook which in turn gets Penelope even more wound up, and she and Cowan have some very intense skirmishes. Mr. Longstreet on the other hand seems a jolly enough soul content with lending backing to his wife’s rather excessive demands for retribution, but when she pushes him too far suddenly there is no more Mr. Nice Guy anymore.
But it wasn’t the subject of the story line that attracted me, but the excellent cast that Polanski pulled in for this four-hander piece. I have never seen Jodie Foster shine so for years as she was superb as the uptight shrill politically and morally correct Penelope intent on starting World War 3 if she didn’t get her way on this. She certainly pushed enough of my buttons, and I was so ready to slap her! John C Reilly played her steadfast hubby who wanted to be the kind generous one even though he couldn’t work out why everyone was so pissed at him for abandoning the family’s pet hamster in the street. Kate Winslet was sublime as the chic Banker trying to placate strident Penelope whilst at the same time resisting doing serious harm to her husband who was only there under protest and hardly contributing to the discussion, The husband Alan, was played by the masterful Christoph Waltz who was a joy to watch as he verbally dug the knife into Penelope and twisted it in without any real effort.
And then there are Ms. Reza’s words. Funny, bitter, very pointed and they land so accurately as all the verbal dexterity heats up to a vicious pace as the afternoon dissolves into near mayhem. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but it is still very enjoyable nevertheless.
PS And I kept looking out of the window of the Brooklyn Apartment wondering where the hell the movie was shot, as we know Polanski is limited as to when he can film!
