Carnage (2011 film)  

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Carnage is a 2011 black comedy film co-written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the play God of Carnage by French playwright Yasmina Reza. The film is an international co-production of France, Germany, Spain and Poland.

Contents

Plot

When two grade-school boys get into a confrontation in the park that results in one boy hitting the other in the mouth with a stick, their parents meet in a Brooklyn apartment to discuss the matter. The parents of the boy wielding the stick, Alan and Nancy Cowan (Waltz and Winslet), visit the home of Michael and Penelope Longstreet (Reilly and Foster), who are the parents of the boy who was struck. Their meeting is initially intended to be a short visit but various circumstances, such as Nancy vomiting in the Longstreet's living room and Alan's numerous cell phone conversations, continue to draw it out.

At first, the verbal exchange between the two married couples maintains a high civility factor but when the differences between them start to emerge, subtly at first and eventually glaringly, the couples begin to turn on each other and finally each on their own spouse. As their civility and inhibition washes away, aided by a bottle of Scotch whisky, the geniality vanishes, descending fully into verbal warfare with all their character flaws laid bare.

In the end, the film cuts to footage of the two boys reconciling on their own, without the aid of their parents and while the credits roll, they are shown continuing to play in the park.

Cast

Production

Although set in Brooklyn, New York, the film was shot in Paris, because of Polanski's fugitive status.

Release

The film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Template:Citation needed The film was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics.

Reception

Critical response

Carnage received generally positive reviews from critics. It holds a 72% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which notes, "It isn't as compelling on the screen as it was on the stage, but Carnage makes up for its flaws with Polanski's smooth direction and assured performances from Winslet and Foster." On Metacritic, which uses an average of the critics' reviews, the film holds a 61/100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".

Awards and honors

Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Jodie Foster (nominee)
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Kate Winslet (nominee)

Satellite Awards
Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture - Kate Winslet (nominee)
Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture - Christoph Waltz (nominee)

Goya Awards
Best European Film - Roman Polanski (nominee)

César Award
Best Writing – Adaptation - Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza (nominee)

Cinema Writers of Spain
Best Adapted Screenplay - Roman Polanski, Yasmina Reza (nominee)

Boston Society of Film Critics
Best Ensemble Cast - Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
Best Ensemble Performance - Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly (nominee)




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Carnage (2011 film)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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