Little Children

Little Children is a film I chose to watch outside of class because of a recommendation. The main theme of this film is about the thirst for something more exciting than the repetitive routines of our lives that become what we feel is just merely plain comfortable and nothing extra. Little Children is about the fear of being stuck at a point in our lives with nowhere left to go. Yes, we are all alive, but are we actually LIVING? Although it didn’t leave me quite as stunned as some of the reviews I read stated I would feel, I thought it was really good because of the realities it explored among 2 of the main adult characters; Sarah and Brad.

Sarah is a wife to a man who is addicted to pornography, and a mother to a 4 year old little girl named Lucy. Sarah has a master’s degree in English, but quit school before actually receiving her PhD. She lives in a huge very nice house and is a stay at home mom. She spends her summer days at the park and the pool with Lucy, other children, and judgmental women of which she really doesn’t care to call her friends. Sarah is bored and unhappy with her life until one day when she meets Brad.

Brad is a very good looking man who is a stay at home dad because of his failed attempts to pass the bar exam and become a lawyer. He is married to a beautiful woman who works as a filmmaker, and they have a son the same age as Lucy. Brad’s wife is so consumed in her job and their son that she has forgotten about keeping her marriage exciting and rarely has sex with her husband.

Even though so far in my response it seems like I am describing a chick flick, Little Children soon becomes something much more than 2 unhappy people.

When Sarah and Brad meet at the park, she talks him into sharing a kiss with her to get a good kick out of the other mothers appalled reactions, but it set off a sense of thrill and curiosity of something different that they both continued to think about days after.

Sarah and Brad’s relationship starts off and stays pretty steadily as only strictly friendship at first, but it brings them close on an emotional level which only makes their future affair much more stimulating. Eventually, their friendship turns sexual, and before they know it they are both living a life separate from their regular routines, sneaking around, avoiding responsibilities, becoming selfish, and basically acting like *little children.*

The question is, is it wrong to want more? Is it wrong to want to feel alive? The answer to those questions is no. However, should we pick and choose what is appropriate to bring us bliss? Yes, we should. Sarah and Brad get so enthralled in their affair but soon realize what they are doing is not real. They each have priorities in their lives, and unfortunately none of us get to be young and care free forever.

At the end of the film, Sarah and Brad have plans to meet up one night and run away together, (really? obviously at the peak of acting like little children). I think Sarah and Brad were just trying to run away from reality in general. Sarah leaves her daughter in a swing at the park for a few minutes and Lucy walks off without Sarah even noticing. Brad gets distracted by a bunch of teenage boys skateboarding and stops to join the fun, but ends up crashing which results in unconsciousness. In those very moments, Sarah and Brad begin thinking like adults again and realize what is really important. Sarah finds Lucy and recognizes how she has been neglecting her daughter. Brad recognizes that at a time when he needs comfort, his wife is the first person to come to mind. They both knew that what they had was over, and luckily didn’t have to suffer the dangerous consequences that their affair could have resulted in.