‘Little Children’ offers shrewd look at suburbia
by Christy Lemire
Associated Press

There’s the prom king, the bully, the dweeb, the bookish one, and the popular blonde who controls a clique of like‑minded minions.

And while they’re adults living comfortable lives, they’re clearly the “Little Children” of the title. This second feature from “In the Bedroom” director Todd Field, based on the acclaimed novel by Tom Perrotta, actually feels more like an extension of high school–like a follow‑up on the types from “The Breakfast Club,” still judging and tormenting each other 20 years later.

“Little Children” doesn’t exactly break any new ground. Suburbia isn’t as safe and genteel as its quiet, leafy exterior would suggest. We understand that by now.

But it is a shrewd, darkly humorous look at supposed civility, at the ways in which we allow ourselves to settle, and a rare depiction of  motherhood as a less‑than‑awesome experience.

Kate Winslet can be both subtle and vibrant as Sarah, the unhappily married mother of a young girl who bucks the playground rules the other mommies follow. Patrick Wilson is blandly likable as Brad, the stay‑at‑home father and husband with whom she has an affair. His chiseled good looks earn him the nickname “The Prom King” from the giggly mothers who ogle him from the shared safety of the park bench but don’t dare speak to him.

Their leader, with her rigid schedule that makes time for snacks in the morning and sex in the evening, is Mary Ann played by Mary B. McCann. And Sarah is only too happy to shock them all by not only approaching Brad, but also sharing a dramatic kiss with him that’s intended solely to get their attention.

But the kiss stirs something unexpected in both of them. Brad is tired of feeling emasculated by his beautiful, successful wife (Jennifer  Connolly), a documentary filmmaker who won’t let him have a cell phone. Sarah, who wears overalls and no makeup and treasures her books, isn’t even his type as we learn from the narrator.

Meanwhile, Sarah’s nebbishy husband (Gregg Edelman) is too busy with his Internet porn obsession to pay attention to her.

Sarah finds reasons to see Brad, and after a series of chaste summer afternoons together with their kids, one day they finally give in. He gets to relive his high‑school football glory days; she gets to date the cutest boy in class.

“Little Children” is meaty and juicy enough without its child‑predator subplot, even though it’s in the book, but Jackie Earle Haley is palpably creepy in the role.

A New Line Cinema release, “Little Children” is rated R for strong sexuality and nudity, language and some disturbing content. Running time: 130 minutes. Three stars out of four.