Review: Carnage

A lot of talkie and not much walkie, this one. Don’t get your hopes up just because you saw John C. Reilly on the billing, because this role is about a million miles from the likes of everyone’s favourite, Dale Dobak, of Step Brothers fame.

If you ever read or saw the play ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, try to imagine that with coffee and cobbler in place of hard booze. The entire film takes place in the apartment of Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Reilly and Jodie Foster), a middle aged quirky urban couple, whose son has got into a bit of bother with another boy in the park. Cue Christoph Waltz (the strudel-loving polylingual nazi off Inglorious Basterds) and Kate Winslet (you know who that is), for a nice thick slice of awkward silence, and a never ending conversation. Waltz, Foster and Winslet, as you would expect, deliver sterling performances, but it’s Reilly who really carries this one. OK, so he’s not shouting ‘Boats n Hoes!’ the whole way through, but if you get into the groove of the film, I’m sure he’ll get a chuckle or two out of you, and you’ll be surprised at what a good actor he actually is.

Its not going to draw you into a popcorn munching, rolling in the aisles type stupor, but if you’re keen to witness some cracking actors have at it, then dive right in.

Carnage is out now.