Master filmmaker Roman Polanski's adaptation of Yasmina Reza's comedy play, God of Carnage.
Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly play two sets of parents who meet after their sons are involved in a schoolyard brawl. It seems, however, that childishness doesn't diminish with age as the initially cordial meeting dissolves into chaos. The action is set entirely within a city apartment.
Less
70%198 reviews
The real battle in Roman Polanski's brisk, fitfully amusing adaptation is a more formal clash between stage minimalism and screen naturalism, as this acid-drenched four-hander never shakes off a mannered, hermetic feel that consistently betrays its theatrical origins.
Full review
A four-way of furious awkwardness played with consummate skill. But, given the talents involved, couldn’t we expect something just a little more substantial?
Full review
“Carnage,” in any case, should not really be a movie. It should be a parlor game.
Full review
The tensions are satisfyingly vicious and unpleasant – mostly while still unspoken.
Full review
This is not a particularly memorable film, but Polanski brings a great deal of skill to its staging, and it looks as if the actors enjoy themselves.
Full review
Not only is Polanski very much in his comfort zone with this material, he also has cast it impressively, staying away from any of the actors who played the parts in either its London or New York productions...
Full review
Snappy, nasty, deftly acted and perhaps the fastest paced film ever directed by a 78-year-old... delivers the laughs and savagery of the stage piece.
Full review
A quartet of pitch-perfect performances from a cast uniformly at its career best, together with a director on shockingly mischievous top form, this is a shot of pure, exhilarating cinematic malice.
Full review
Polanski wants to rub our collective noses in the ugliest elements of humanity. Yet by the time everyone in Carnage has revealed themselves, we’re left not with flawed human beings, but with monsters of banality whose company represents a brutal form of punishment in itself.
Full reviewCarnage is available to stream in New Zealand now on Apple TV.
Get to your watchlist.
Or sign in with your email
Don’t have a Flicks account?
Keep track of the movies and show you want to see + get Flicks email updates.
Or sign up with your email
Already have a Flicks account?
Don’t have a Flicks account?
Remembered your password?
To post ratings/reviews we need a username. This is what will appear next to your ratings and reviews.
