Directed by Roman Polanski
Two eleven year old boys have an altercation at the park and one hits the other in the mouth with a stick. The parents of the stick-wielder, Alan (Christopher Waltz) and Nancy Cowan (Kate Winslet), visit the parents of the injured child, Michael (John C Reilly) and Penelope (Jodie Foster), at their the Brooklyn apartment to discuss the matter. Based on the successful play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza, Polanski’s latest film is an absolutely hilarious black comedy that throws four top-notch actors into a small lounge room for the duration of the film. What evolves is a lengthy discussion that starts with great civility and degenerates as the personalities of the respective parents emerge. Phone calls interrupt the conversation, a neighbour (a cameo by Polanski) wonders about the noise and when alcohol and projectile vomit are added, the dynamics completely change and marital allegiances break down.
–Lezly Herbert
