We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

IMDb plot summary: Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
Directed by Lynne Ramsay. Stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and Ezra Miller.

Though the choppy, dreamy editing between present and past makes it difficult to tell sometimes what is *actually happening*, this movie is fascinating once it gets going. I found myself fascinated by the character of Kevin, simultaneously terrified and intrigued, wanting to find out what was going on in his head. Of course the audience never really gets that satisfaction, but it's an incredible journey all the same. The dynamic of the relationship between Kevin and his mother is something that really sucked me into it, and I couldn't look away - very "train wreck." Movies like this really make me a little annoyed that 2012's Best Picture nominees were so humdrum. Even if I didn't love this movie, it trumps The Help and The Descendants any day. 4 stars.

Best Part: Kevin. And by best in this case, I mean "most chilling."
Worst Part: That editing, with sudden unexplained shots of random inanimate objects. I'm sure it was supposed to be emotional and evocative, but it didn't work for me in this case.

Flickchart: #520, below Hot Fuzz and above The Band Wagon. It is very different from either one of those.