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Little Children

Play trailer Poster for Little Children R,  2006,  2h 10m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 80% 158 Reviews Tomatometer 82% 50,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
80% Tomatometer 158 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Sarah (Kate Winslet) is a well-educated woman who cannot come to terms with her life as a housewife and mother. Brad (Patrick Wilson), a stay-at-home dad, is married to a beautiful filmmaker (Jennifer Connelly) and goes skateboarding instead of studying for the bar exam. The pair meet at a playground and soon begin having secret trysts while their children nap and their spouses are at work.
Little Children

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Little Children takes a penetrating look at suburbia and its flawed individuals with an unflinching yet humane eye.

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Critics Reviews

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Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald Feb 9, 2007
The film displays a certain kinship with Sam Mendes's American Beauty, but Field is more tragedian than social satirist. Go to Full Review
J. R. Jones Chicago Reader Jan 5, 2007
As in Field's first film, the characters are drawn with such compassion their follies become our own and their desires seem as vast as the night sky. Go to Full Review
Kathy Cano-Murillo Arizona Republic Jan 4, 2007
3/5
Little Children includes all the clichéd scenarios of a midday TV sudser, but they're ratcheted up several seedy degrees. Go to Full Review
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com May 30, 2023
4/5
'...the 134 minute length is justified by the eloquent way that Field skilfully draws out the mores of the suburban community...' Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Nov 24, 2022
3.5/4
...a slow-moving yet mostly engrossing drama... Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter May 19, 2020
Little Children shines through its flaws to deliver some of this season's most adult entertainment, a chilly send-up of an America we can all see out our windows or through our video screens. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Draco R Mar 8, 2019 perfect good acting, and ronnie is amzing. Brad is also good
Hermione P Dec 16, 2018 Little Children is a dramatic film that is based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta. It stars Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, Phyllis Somerville and Will Lyman.Todd Field,who co-wrote the screenplay with the novelist Perrotta,directs this film. The film involves the lives of two spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer.Sarah Pierce (Winslet) is a reluctant housewife and mother in an upper-middle class suburb of Boston. She is married to Richard Pierce(Edelman),a successful yet distant husband, who is secretly obsessed with an internet porn star. While Brad Adamson (Wilson) is a former college football player who's married to Kathy (Connelly),a filmmaker, with a young son named Aaron. He is depressed and frustrated, as his wife is the breadwinner and he is a stay-at-home father.Each day he leaves home with the pretense of going to the library to study, but spends the time watching skateboarders at the nearby park. He joins a policeman's touch football team at the urging of a friend, Larry Hedges(Emmerich), a disgraced former police officer.Sarah and Brad meet on the school playground. Over the course of several visits to the local pool, both soon begin an affair. Finally,Ronnie James McGorvey (Haley), who has served a prison sentence for indecent exposure to a minor, has moved back into the neighborhood to live with his mother. Hedges launches a harassment campaign against Ronnie, handing out posters, vandalizing his house, harassing and almost assaulting the man and his mother. Over the course of the film,it explores the characters' struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations to their weaknesses. This is one of the best films during the year of its release.The stories that are presented in this film are thought-provoking as it genuinely explores people's emotions,relationships and their insecurities in life.The themes tackled will definitely go through the sensitivity and emotions of the viewer. The acting was definitely superior in this film. After an absence of 13 years in the film industry, come backing actor, Jackie Earle Haley shines in this film together with Kate Winslet. Both deserved their Oscar nominations for this film. Finally, the screenplay and the direction of the film deserves a lot of praise as well.In summary,it is one of the best films that truly wonders about the mystery of human emotions. See more
Hermione W Sep 11, 2018 This is a bit of an odd story with a narrative that gets a little lost - but all together a good presentation of romance in suburbia. Wilson really shines as the right man for this role. See more
George S Jun 25, 2018 I only lasted an hour, I was in complete disbelief that this was a movie that I was supposed to take seriously. The slow pace, ridiculous story and narration played it like a spoof movie, however this movie was very serious unfortunately See more
Ron W Feb 16, 2018 Please Tom Perrotta, write more books.
Albus S Feb 9, 2018 Despite its flaws, Little Children is a sufficiently thought-provoking piece.
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Little Children

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sarah (Kate Winslet) is a well-educated woman who cannot come to terms with her life as a housewife and mother. Brad (Patrick Wilson), a stay-at-home dad, is married to a beautiful filmmaker (Jennifer Connelly) and goes skateboarding instead of studying for the bar exam. The pair meet at a playground and soon begin having secret trysts while their children nap and their spouses are at work.
Director
Todd Field
Producer
Todd Field, Ron Yerxa, Albert Berger
Screenwriter
Todd Field, Tom Perrotta
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema, Standard Film Company Inc., Bona Fide Productions
Rating
R (Some Disturbing Content|Language|Strong Sexuality and Nudity)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 6, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 31, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.5M
Runtime
2h 10m
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