We Need to Talk About Kevin

Eva once worked as a travel writer, but she set that career aside to start a family with her husband, Franklin. Their son Kevin proves difficult from the very beginning, and the bond between mother and son stays strained as he grows from a toddler into a teenager, while Franklin avoids facing the problems at home. The film follows Eva as she looks back on those years and confronts her own sense of responsibility for what her son has done.

Lynne Ramsay directed and co-wrote the adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel with Rory Stewart Kinnear. It was her third feature, arriving between Morvern Callar and You Were Never Really Here. Tilda Swinton plays Eva, with John C. Reilly as Franklin and Ezra Miller as the teenage Kevin; the large credited cast and crew reflect a substantial production. Made for about 7 million dollars, the film returned roughly 9 million worldwide. Against those modest commercial numbers, its reception stands out: it holds a 7.4 rating on IMDb from around 180,000 votes and a 7.5 on TMDB from over 3,200 votes. The critics' rating of 7.3 from 210 reviews places it broadly in line with how audiences have received it.