Indie films that are so overtly indie don’t usually bode well with me. They’re exhausting. This is typically the case with flicks like Juno that brim with “clever” quips and quirks; an effort to remind viewers that the film they’re watching is completely alternative to most of today’s mainstream trash. When that effort is strained, the film as a whole, story included, feel contrived. Unnatural vibes abound, eye-rolling commences, and I – personally – become completely detached. Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right came across as that sort of film in a few areas. From the hip music nods, to the “subliminal” environmental messages, the film seemed to have an air of forced bohemian quality. Luckily, unlike many of the mumblecore movies I abhor, the overall approach of Cholodenko’s Kids felt unexpectedly natural. I’d say this is mostly due to the presence of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, two brilliant actresses who were able to exempt the film from the curse of hipster cinema.
The film follows Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening), a lesbian couple hailing from California, and their two children Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Both kids were conceived via artificial insemination and once the eldest – Joni – turns eighteen, Laser requests that she arrange to meet their biological father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo) – who represents the film’s archetypal nonconformist. This little rendezvous with Paul is set up without their parents’ consent and goes swimmingly for the most part. The moms eventually find out about Paul and decide to invite him over for dinner – which creates an awkward atmosphere – in order to learn more about him and determine exactly where he would fit in family-wise. The dinner essentially opens a door into the kids’ lives for Paul, and with apprehension, the moms begin to realize that the freethinking restaurateur is inadvertently tearing their family apart.
I’ve read a number of criticisms on Kids, many of which slam the title for having nothing to do with the film at all. My take is this: the title isn’t supposed to insinuate that the kids are focal points. It instead serves as a message to overprotective parents who consider every possible precaution while raising their children rather than taking the time to ask themselves if those precautions are even necessary; that perhaps the kids are fine without the extra safeguards. Bening’s Nic character is strict by nature, making her the standard matriarch who takes every preemptive measure to protect her family from potential harm, yet by the end of the film she falls victim to her own overbearing ways. Cholodenko probably didn’t intend to imply any of this with the title – she actually derived it from a song by The Who – so the connotation is really anyone’s guess, but there’s my interpretation.
Morals and parenting tips aside, the performances are really what propel this film. Moore is tragically precise in her portrayal of an aimless, but admirable woman whose eccentricities are both delightful and understated. Bening, who God knows is overdue for an Oscar, delivers her second most accomplished performance of the year – the first being the less-talked-about Mother and Child – proving that she’s fully capable of harmonizing those neurotic tics of hers with pure authenticity. Ruffalo, stealing every scene he’s in with disheveled charm, is eerily candid; his character’s quirks seem complex – sadly unexplored – yet genuine and professionally honed to perfection.
Not too mellow, and not too melodramatic, Kids is a swell blend of drama and realism. Cholodenko truly has her actors to thank for this compelling look inside a fairly unconventional family dynamic. The writing’s adequate – a classy, but personal examination of lesbianism and sexual impulses – but the cast fuels the material presented. The sincere, affectionate interplay between Moore and Bening is something so rarely seen in contemporary romances and that's primarily what makes Kids one of the year’s best offers.
8.5/10
Amen. There's little else to say about this one that you have not covered. The kids are all right. And so's the movie.
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