Tomorrow night, Roman Polanski’s new film, Carnage, is set to open the 2011 New York Film Festival and it will most likely open to a wonderful applause and very positive reviews. The movie, which is based off of Yasmina Reza’s play, God of Carnage, stars Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs), Kate Winslet (Titanic), Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), and John C. Reilly (Step Brothers).
Carnage is a sharp and witty comedy about two sets of parents who confront each other after Nancy (Winslet) and Allen’s (Waltz) son hits Penelope (Foster) and Michael’s (Reilly) son in the face with a stick, knocking a tooth or two out in the process. The two couples meet in order to to resolve the issue and to schedule a time where the Nancy and Allen’s kid can apologize to the other. What starts off as superficial and polite conflict resolving session eventually turns into a verbal battle with each person peeling their skin back, showing their true colors to the others in the room.
Carnage is an 80 minute, dialogue driven comedy that wastes no time in getting to the point. It’s a film that constantly plays off the concepts of duality but does so in a vicious circle. First we get a feeling of the happy family versus the unhappy family, the one that cares about work and the one that cares about family. Then the vicious circle revolves and we begin to look at gender roles, how the men perceive the situation versus the women. As the conversation begins to steer away from the issues of the children we begin to learn more about the individuals in the room and the current statuses of their marriages. The purpose of this movie is to show how people generally hide their true personalities when in the presence of strangers.
I think Roman Polanski did a great job directing this film but much of my praise comes down to both the script and the acting. Polanski co-wrote the script with Reza which ensured that this would be a faithful adaptation of the popular show and a guaranteed hit on the screen. Combine that with four terrific actors and you have yourself a hilarious and genuinely great piece of comedy. Jodie Foster was perfectly cast as the uptight, humanistic mother that tries so hard to be perfect, civilized and a role model for others. The treat when watching her is when she begins to drink scotch and breaks down in front of the other characters, escalating a battle into a full on war and giving us a taste of Jodie that we don’t see 
too often. Kate Winslet was superb as well as the hands-off and respectable wife who somehow manages to put up with her husbands’ annoying habits. There is one scene where Nancy does some damage to an art book and it’s probably the highlight of the entire film and one that you don’t see coming either.
In my humble opinion though, the standout performances came from John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz. Watching Reilly evolve throughout the film from an ideal host to a drunken chauvinistic prick was hilarious. His banter and chemistry with Waltz is what created so much of the humor and was the source of most of my enjoyment throughout the film. What made Christoph Waltz so great was his nihilistic attitude toward the world and how even with focusing on work and interrupting conversations with his phone calls, he still manages to have convincing and witty arguments with Penelope which results in Michael backing him up most of the time. The best part of the men was that they had these Johny Wayne type attitudes, the laugh in the face of danger type, but then they break down due to the most pathetic things, like not having a cell phone and being scared of rodents.
Carnage is a movie made for the adults and parents of the world. The characters in the film say everything parents would love to say to other parents about their children but hold their tongues out of respect. Not only that, it takes it all a step further by providing us more time with all the characters than most parents would actually spend with the opposing party in a room. With an excellent script, wonderful directing, and outstanding performances all around, Carnage is not only worth your time but deserving of the opening night spot at this year’s NYFF.
Rating: A vivacious and sharp comedy that’ll have you laughing from start to finish (8.5/10)
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