'CARNAGE': Four Stars (Out of Five) Roman Polanski adapts the popular French play 'God of Carnage', by Yasmina Reza, in to this dark comedy about argument. The film tells the story of two sets of parents trying to 'heal' a conflict started by their kids. It stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. The entire film is set in real time in one Brooklyn apartment (although filmed in Paris due to director Polanski being a wanted fugitive in the US). Reza co-wrote the screenplay with Polanski and it's about as clever and witty as any film I've seen this year, while still remaining mostly believable! The film revolves around a fight that breaks out between two eleven year old classmates in Brooklyn Bridge Park when one boy refuses to let the other in his gang and calls him a tattle-tail. One boy is struck by the other with a stick and is hurt badly in the mouth, requiring some dental work. The parents of each boy decide to meet in one couple's Brooklyn apartment in order to discuss the fight and try to resolve the conflict between the two boys. The rest of the film (almost it's entirety) plays out in the apartment with the parents discussing their boys' conflict rather aggressively which results in a much bigger conflict between them. Like the recent Iranian film 'A SEPARATION' this is a beautiful and believable film about argument. Of course this is a much more comedic and somewhat lighthearted look at argument than the award winning foreign language film but it's just as realistic and drives home it's point just as clearly. The acting is all top notch with Foster playing against type as the most unlikeable character of the bunch and Waltz impressing yet again by delivering my favorite performance of the film. The dialogue is very smart and funny and the directing is perfectly subtle. Like I said not as hard-hitting as the Iranian masterpiece but nearly as effective in it's own way. A very relatable and enlightening film; one not to be missed!
