“CARNAGE”
Based upon the stage play “The God Of Carnage” by Yasmina Reza
Screenplay Written by Yasmina Reza and Roman Polanski
Directed by Roman Polanski
*** 1/2 (three and a half stars)
Maybe there’s something to be said for just hitting someone in the face with a stick.
Please allow me to clarify, so as none of you feel that I, your friendly neighborhood film enthusiast, has fallen into a state of violent nihilism. No worries, dear readers. I am still a “live and let live” individual, a pacifist at heart but there have been times…Lord, have there been times…
In my life as a preschool teacher, every day at school consists of the constant fostering of my charges’ collective array of growing social skills, most notably, how do we all get along and live together in our particular microcosm of society. Variations of the phrase “Use your words,” are especially commonplace in my chosen career as this is the crucial period where teachers attempt to instill in very small children the ability to approach interpersonal conflicts with respect and dignity towards others. Essentially, screaming and hitting will get you nowhere. But then, I have had experiences where I could not help but to wonder just what society would possibly be like if adults were allotted the same psychological space as small children in regards to emotional outbursts. Would adult society be better served if having occasional temper tantrums were more the norm than what actually exists, a society of repressed emotions solely for the purpose of maintaining a certain civility. This conceit sat at the core of legendary and controversial Director Roman Polanski’s latest film “Carnage,” a dark social comedy of what happens when upstanding, decent people get together and stop being polite. I have to say that I am a sucker for dialogue heavy films set within enclosed spaces and for this film, Polanski has set us all up for a doozy, one that we may all uncomfortably relate to even more than we even realize.
As “Carnage” opens, we are witness to a playground fight between two middle school children surrounded by a gaggle of their friends. After some unheard verbal taunts and the requisite pushing and shoving, one child, brandishing a tree branch whips around and smacks his adversary directly in the face.
From here, “Carnage” settles entirely into the New York apartment dwelling of writer and social justice campaigner Penelope and wholesaler Michael Longstreet (played by Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly), the parents of the boy who was hit. Stockbroker Nancy and attorney Alan Cowan (played by Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz), the parents of the boy who attacked, have arrived for a short visit to discuss the situation between their respective sons and oversee the Longstreet’s written statement as well.
From the very beginning, the tension between the two couples is palpable through language delivered through clenched passive aggressiveness and social one-upsmanship. Yet in the interest of civility, the foursome continues their feeble attempts for mature reconciliations through the Longstreet’s offerings of bland societal pleasantries of coffee and cobbler. But, Alan’s incessant cell phone rings and rings and he continuously and loudly holds legal conversations. Penelope’s high strung and sense of control grows more unhinged. Michael’s dopey geniality hides a nasty streak. And poor, beleaguered Nancy’s frustration soon overtakes her, finding solace within a bottle of scotch. As the verbal wordplay grows angrier, crueler and more destructive, not only has the intended civility of this meeting fallen apart but possibly the internal states of both marriages.
In addition to the difficulty of maintaining one’s set of learned social graces, “Carnage” is a prickly written and acted film, which concerns itself with childhood bullying, sanctimonious liberalism, class, wealth, the anxiety and resentment of helicopter parents, the low-down vicious behavior of the upper class as well as a bout of horrific projectile vomiting. I was deeply impressed at how much subject matter was contained within this scant 80 minute film and nothing ever felt stuffed or overdone and in this time of excess, Polanski wisely knew how to keep the events flowing freely, how to build and release the tension and most importantly, when to quit. “Carnage” is essentially a plotless film however, that is not a hindrance as the full behavior of the characters makes this particular story work successfully. Everything we need to know is expressed through dialogue and actions and by the film’s conclusion, I was (almost) fully satisfied as there was not much else that was necessary.
All of the performances are pitch perfect and work beautifully in tandem with each other. Not one of the four principal players delivered work designed to outshine their acting compatriots. They felt like a well-oiled machine, as well as they should for if any performance felt out of step, the entire proceedings would disastrously falter. Polanski never overplayed his hand with this presentation, which did carry a certain staginess but not one that was bothersome to me. In fact, I think this film may even reward you with subsequent viewings as the locations, set design and clothing serve as much purpose as the sharp, stinging dialogue.
I was so happy to see Jodie Foster in a performance that was not only terrific but also miles away from her trademark virtuous heroines in distress. Almost everything you need to know about Penelope Longstreet is apparent through her prim, attractive figure which is outfitted with clothing that must be more self-consciously expensive than she would openly let on to others, as that would belie her public front of social responsibility. Her passionate ranting about the horrors of Africa as she safely resides in her wealthy New York apartment is the epitome of her self-righteous liberalism. She is as equally obsessive about her priceless and out of print art books, the status of her decorative tulips shipped from Holland, whether cans of Coke and that aforementioned cobbler are placed in or out of the refrigerator as she is about the language used in her written statement. And her clipped vocal delivery, which is peppered with those aforementioned passive-aggressive asides barely conceals the self-righteous venom she holds against her guests. Making matters decidedly worse is the behavior of her husband Michael, whose meek defense and congenial nature towards the guests undercuts her emotions, making her appear as the more unreasonable of the twosome. Watching Penelope’s disintegration over the course of the film provided much of the satiric humor but it was oh so telling in how difficult holding up such a controlled visage, especially one through social competition, must be. Jodie Foster plays this part to the hilt as her perfectly coiffed head of pony-tailed hair flies out of place, her intellectual glasses are discarded and her rage is fully unleashed as she screams tirades with seemingly every vein in her neck popping furiously.
Christoph Waltz also impressed me greatly as his overall sense of callousness regarding nearly everything in his life, aside from his career, is dramatically on display. Alan Cowes is a man who grudgingly puts up with social graces and in the case of this particular story, there is nearly anywhere else he would rather be than in this apartment. That being said, he will gladly and voraciously eat plate after plate of cobbler and help himself to glass after glass of scotch. I loved watching him take one business call after another without regard for anyone else in the room and just watch how he causally sits upon the Longstreet’s furniture as if this house was his own. Late in the film, Alan expresses that he loves “the God of Carnage,” expressing a more nihilistic view of humanity that again gives unspoken permission for the spineless Michael Longstreet to veer away from Penelope and align himself with his guests.
While Roman Polanski stages this social dance of bad manners with deftly excellent skill, “Carnage” does fall far short of the devastatingly epic power of Mike Nichols “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?” (1966), a film I could not help to think that “Carnage” was trying to emulate to a degree. I felt “Carnage” fit more closely with the upper class existential crisis as portrayed by Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing in Director Fred Schepisi’s excellent “Six Degrees Of Separation” (1993), and that is definitely strong cinematic company to reside with.
When the film ended, I had this feeling that despite the talent on display and the overall effectiveness of the material, “Carnage” seemed to be more than a little inconsequential. But, as I write and ruminate, I think that what Polanski has done is create a short story of a film that questions nothing less than our collective humanity, a constant theme that carries much weight and meaning on Savage Cinema. I think that Polanski is presenting to us a situation where we have to question if the sometimes meaningless traditions of our social graces are indeed meaningless at all and if they are necessary to build and maintain a societal order or not. What is Alan Cowes but a representation of our emotionless disconnect within our cell phone culture? During one crucial moment, Alan shrieks, “My life is in that phone!!” But what of the life that is occurring right in this very apartment, not to mention the well-being of his son, whom he truly resents and desires to leave in the nurturing care of his gorgeous yet weary long-suffering wife. Through these moments, and through “Carnage” as a whole, Polanski illustrates not only our continuing disconnect from each other but the lives that are happening right in front of us, most especially our own.
And perhaps, Polanski may be suggesting, forcing ourselves to weather the banalities of social graces and gestures to maintain order instead of narcissistically releasing our vitriol upon each other is paramount to a healthy society. But then again, Polanski may also be questioning, shouldn’t everything be relegated to a greater sense of balance? For what good is maintaining social graces at the expense of our own individualistic sense of sanity and coping?
These are weighty themes collected in a deceptively small package. “Carnage” represents the very type of film that is in short supply these days, a film that is designed to be discussed and argued about long after viewers have exited the movie theater. Roman Polanski’s “Carnage” is a ferociously entertaining work that has much on its mind for it and all of us to ponder. For in the social tug of war, in this case between “the haves” and “the have mores,” what should we cling to: our feeble and possibly futile collection of public appearances or should we all let loose and claw each other apart?
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