We Need To talk about Kevin Analysis

We need to talk about Kevin is a 2011 psychological thriller, directed by Lynne Ramsey. It follows the story of Eva and her son Kevin. We follow Eva struggling to come to terms with her son and the horrors he has committed.

Cinematography and foreshadowing are used in unisons within the opening shots of the film. The first shot shows a curtain being blown in the wind. Colour is also used effectively in this shot as its mainly black and dark blue which indicates sadness and also a sense of mystery. The symbolism of an open curtain also represents freedom and escape which themes are definitely explored through the movie. The following scene is a extreme wide birds eye shot of a spanish festival where the main colour seems to be red. This is deeply symbolic of blood and horror which will follow in the film. Also it ties in with the sense of freedom from the last scene as in this scene Eva is free and not tied down at all like she will be later on in the film.

The film mainly deals with the themes of love, murder, death, mental strain and also freedom. The main ones are love and death though. Love is explored greatly through the film because despite the fact Kevin is a terrible person Eva still visits. This shows that maternal love between a mother and son. Death is also hugely explored as Kevin does a hugely influential massacre during the film but smaller things are layered within the build up to the event. These include the killing of the hamster and also him hurting his sister and her eye. There are also some more smaller things that create the sense kevin will do something like he does. The sandwiches also create this theme as the jam eh spreads represents blood and also the way he spreads it creates this horrific tone.

The acting in the film is extremely good. Ezra miller's acting is great and the one scene id like to highlight which shows this is the scene where he eats a lychee. The way he peels the lychee is demonic and disturbing. This is also foreshadowing of the horrors he does later. This is also followed with the way he eats it and spits the juice. It creates a disgusting feel and tells us his character is disturbing and almost arrogant in the sense that he peels it very harsh.