Today I went to the annual showing of the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts. I've gone to these showings for at least a decade and must admit that this year's batch was the most god-awful films....all of them very depressing and a few so depressing that I left the theater wanting to shoot myself!! Clearly, "Detainment" was among the most depressing to watch....especially since it's a recreation of a horrible and very brutal murder of a 2 year-old...by two 10 year-olds!!
Before I get to my review, I can't avoid talking about the controversy surrounding this particular film. The filmmakers never sought to warn the parents of the dead child that they were making the film nor did they attempt to get their consent. Not surprisingly, the dead toddler's mother was angry and tried to get the picture removed from Oscar contention. Part of this, reportedly, is because the film supposedly humanized the murderers...though after seeing it, I don't believe it did. One was clearly portrayed as a soulless monster...the other, while more sympathetic was still shows as a horrible little thing as well.
The story begins with Jon and Robert running amok in a mall...stealing and breaking and annoying everyone. When they come upon an unaccompanied toddler, they impulsively kidnap the boy and then extremely brutally (and probably sexually) murder him for kicks. Most of the film consists of the children being interviewed by police as they pieced the story together. Fortunately, the film did NOT show the murder or the small child being harmed in any way..though they do have the actors playing the murderers describe some of what they'd done....and it was ROUGH to listen to. I found myself in tears several times...and even now tear up as I write about it.
The acting is terrific---esepcially by the kids and director who was able to elicit such emotive performances out of them. While I would say that this was the best made film this year, it is very rough to watch. I strongly recommend you think twice about seeing it..especially if you've been a victim of abuse or if you have lost a loved one due to violence.
Before I get to my review, I can't avoid talking about the controversy surrounding this particular film. The filmmakers never sought to warn the parents of the dead child that they were making the film nor did they attempt to get their consent. Not surprisingly, the dead toddler's mother was angry and tried to get the picture removed from Oscar contention. Part of this, reportedly, is because the film supposedly humanized the murderers...though after seeing it, I don't believe it did. One was clearly portrayed as a soulless monster...the other, while more sympathetic was still shows as a horrible little thing as well.
The story begins with Jon and Robert running amok in a mall...stealing and breaking and annoying everyone. When they come upon an unaccompanied toddler, they impulsively kidnap the boy and then extremely brutally (and probably sexually) murder him for kicks. Most of the film consists of the children being interviewed by police as they pieced the story together. Fortunately, the film did NOT show the murder or the small child being harmed in any way..though they do have the actors playing the murderers describe some of what they'd done....and it was ROUGH to listen to. I found myself in tears several times...and even now tear up as I write about it.
The acting is terrific---esepcially by the kids and director who was able to elicit such emotive performances out of them. While I would say that this was the best made film this year, it is very rough to watch. I strongly recommend you think twice about seeing it..especially if you've been a victim of abuse or if you have lost a loved one due to violence.