Who are the little children of the title? - Those allegedly at risk from the paedophile newly released in the paranoid American middle class suburb? - The children of the illicit lovers – or the lovers themselves?
Kate Winslet plays Sarah who doesn’t fit in among the other mothers, whose older husband is getting his kicks from the internet. Brad (Patrick Wilson) is a dissatisfied house husband of beautiful filmmaker Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) who uses sport as a way of deferring the law exams he’s too scared to resit.
Drawing parallels with Madame Bovary, Sarah and Brad begin an affair, which ends less tragically but is still tainted with the book’s knowing cynicism. Unusually, the novel’s inner thoughts are translated as a third person voiceover – a frustrating device. Uncomfortable viewing at times, this deals with hard issues in a way that avoids judgment or easy answers, but is ultimately a little unsatisfactory. ER
