Devil ears/ tail suggests sic-fi/horror - birth of
the devil child
1970's style poster
Disturbing central image
Intertextuality of Rosemary's baby
Poster 2
Ron com - red writing suggests love
Contrast between their faces and the balloon
Juxta position - 'need to talk'
(ironic) they're not talking
Poster 3
Blue tone/ black
suggests sic-fi/
horror
Wonder what
the eyes are
looking at
"haunting"
horror genre
signifier
Representation of Eva
Present
Alone
Vulnerable
Medication
Drinking heavily
Doesn't defend herself
Black, dowdy appearance, hiding herself, large
sunglasses
Grateful for small
things
Spends christmas alone
Non-materialistic
Insignificant as possible
shy, lacks confidence
Plain clothing, unkempt
Haunted character, insecurity, guilt,
reflects on past events
Past
Outgowing, educated successful
Her own office, wealthy, assertive
hair cut, well kept, confident
realistic portrayal of motherhood, finds she cant love her son
Final embrace signigies acceptance from Kevin/bonding,
bonded to isolated from Kevin throughout
Narrative framed from her prospective (sullen
demeanour of Kevin/ different personality
around Franklin)
As a mother
Finds it unnatural,
doesn't embrace it
Struggle to cope
Kevin has limited her
Representation of Kevin
Unresponsive,
controlling,
non-descript
No personality, manipulative
Collects computer virus' "there is no point thats the point"
Sabotages the meal, make mum feel uncomfortable, never happy, needy
when poorly and when going to prison, articulate, antisocial
Unsure at end of
motivations for
mass killing
Intelligent/ destructive/ controlling/ perceptive, 'Kevin is
both entrancing and repulsive' - Daily Telegraph
Insular/ moody
Independent
Manipulative, uses broken arm as
means of control/ orders Celia around
Rebellious, eats whole chicken before meal
Representation of American Life
Live in a big house sprinklers always on, metaphor of American dream
Live in suburbs, entrapment of modern
America, big bland home, tree lines streets
Challenges notion of ideal nuclear family, shows impacts of lack of communiction/ emotion within a family and its
impacts
Narrative Structure
Non linear
Ambiguous (unclear)
Never know
the answers
Open ending
Genre
Thriller
Melodrama
Horror signifiers, halloween, colour red
Drama
Technical Codes
Use of red, red lighting
lots of spatial shots to
represent the
emotional distance
between Kevin and Eva
Lots of close ups of Kevin
biting nails, crushing cereal
almost shows how he is
squashing people, eating the
'eye' squelching like its all he sees
Scenes often oblique/ framed to
emphasise the space between the
characters, reflects themes of
family dysfunction/ breakdowns
in communication
Characters often positioned at
extremes of frame during
mid/wide shot
Vio;once of massacre
kept off screen
Opening scene abroad at festival La Tomatina,
use of red frequent throughout
Audio Codes
Contrapuntal sound, sound we hear/ images we
see don't match, creates distorted/ uneven
atmosphere
Cheery old fashioned songs when Eva and Franklin meet
Lots of non diegetic sound
Kevin on stage hears "crowds"
Is he immoral or amoral?
Non diegetic sound track = electric - frequent use of
country/ western/ skiffle/ blues/ nostalgic songs. Eg.
Buddy Holly's 'Everyday' - often juxtaposed with disturbing
on screen events
Opening/ closing song = mothers last words to her son about
men reflecting on mothers advice "Washington Phillips"
gospel song
Narrative
Film has a challenging non-linear narrative/ elliptical
editing
Constantly fits between the present where Eva is alone/ visiting Kevin/ trying to find
work and past chronological events from Eva and Franklins romance - Kevins Birth/
grows from baby- child - adolescent - protagonist in a high school massacre
Scenes linked as if we are passing through Eva's consciousness
Also flashbacks to call Eva's office alert of
school massacre/ parents outside the school
Enigma codes - witness hostility towards Eva, her isolation
Kevins role in events? His incarceration?
Where are Franklin and Celia?
Lots of enigma codes
Much of the narrative is ambiguous - events are simplicity suggested, eg. hamster
goes missing, sink blocked, bleach used to clear it, Celia gets blind by bleach
Circular structure - return to certain
situations Eg. Eva cleaning house/
visiting prison
Makes us question what has maintained their relationship -
becomes less apparent as texts develop = contradicts
mainstream narratives
Themes
Explores the uncomfortable
reality of family relationships
Breaks taboo -
mother who finds
she cannot love son
Living with consequences of family's actions
Impact of suburban life - what
makes teenagers into mass
murderers
Mise En Scene
Often basic/ sparse backgrounds to reflect suburban emptiness
Symbolic use of eggs
Secondary Research/ Audience
Response
Censorship issues
Rated 15
Serious taboo
subject that could
offence people
Not allowed to be aired in
Norway after attacks
"Unsettling and
also
unnecessary"
Critic Reviews
"Swinton doesn't say much, she doesn't have to. hear tear
stained eyes carry her emotions, clearly one of her best"
Rolling Stones
One of the most hilling films of 2011
Psychographic Responses
Reformers - media products that challenge the norm
Seattle times writes: "this is a truly domestic horror story, with no
easy answers and nobody blameless'
Readings
Preferred: We the audience are positioned to dislike
Kevin due to the killings
Negotiated: As an audience we feel sorry for Eva however feel she is partly to blame
Oppositional: as an audience we dislike
Eva and feel sorry for Kevin as she did not
raise him and neglected him
Uses and Grats
Surveillance: gives us info on what is going on in the world. Philadelphia weekly writes "we
shouldn't talk about the ugly feelings Kevin stirs up but maybe we need to