I Need A Nap. Just like "Little Children."

I think the entire company is in a pre-City Center stupor right now. As the season begins to call our names, rehearsals are going full swing and leaving everyone exhausted. Walking myself home at night seems like a chore usually resulting in me sitting on the couch and doing no actual chores. Tonight I decided I needed a little change of pace so I went for solo movie night at the Angelika to see “Little Children.”

This is a movie that I was eagerly anticipating and it lived up to some of my expecations but not all. I have always wished that “Desperate Housewives” had a little more substance and were put on a network like HBO because I feel that suburban life is something that fascinates all of us. “American Beauty” dove into the underbelly of it beautifully and this movie attempts to take a similar path. It has the same sort of comedic and dramatic moments like “Desperate Housewives” but unlike that ball of fluff (my guilty pleasure) it dives into the minds of its characters.

All of the actors in the movie are brilliant which should come as no surprise. Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly and Kate Winslet have all done such consistently good work and they continue that reputation here. This movie (like “Half Nelson”) takes a decidedly slower pace in building its characters which makes the payoff that much more exciting. By the time Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson have sex, the audience was on the edge of their seats knowing it HAD to happen soon. Don’t worry I didn’t ruin anything, you know that from the preview.

Sometimes I feel that in the creation of things people just try to hard. I know for myself when I work on writing or choreography sometimes I just attempt to “say” too much instead of relying on simplicity. I think this movie suffered a little bit from reaching too high with a few side story lines that didn’t really add up for me. However I really do recommend it because it is an interesting look at the desire to really “live” life and not just be complacent. Sometimes in the search for something more you are ignoring the wonderful life that you are already living. On that note, I need to stop living life for a few minutes and just sleep!