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  Manisha Lakhe

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When is the last time you spend multiplex money that you wished had extended beyond the 93 minutes of playing time? When is the last time you sat so mesmerised that you stayed until the last of the credits were over and the cleaning crew stood over your head? When was the last time you were so amazed at how the beginning and the end frames make so much sense? When was the last time you enjoyed the …

When is the last time you spend multiplex money that you wished had extended beyond the 93 minutes of playing time? When is the last time you sat so mesmerised that you stayed until the last of the credits were over and the cleaning crew stood over your head? When was the last time you were so amazed at how the beginning and the end frames make so much sense? When was the last time you enjoyed the background score so much that you were vibrating with the sound?

Roman Polanski’s real life may not be something you might ever endorse, but his filmmaking is faultless (bar a never ending whiskey bottle). Carnage begins on a civilised note, like a little stone rolling down a mountain. But then picks up pace so rapidly it turns into a full fledged avalanche and you are happy to be a part of the conversation.



Yes, this is about a spirited conversation between two couples. (If you have ambitions of the written kind, then you must watch this movie because it is brilliantly written.) As the synopsis suggests, it is about two boys who get into a playground fight. Now new age mother of the boy who loses a couple of teeth has invited the parents of the boy who hit him with a stick.

Two fathers and two mothers begin the discussion and the civilised give and take of an apology over coffee and cobbler. The visiting parents have almost taken leave when a word acts as kindling to fire, and then the fire begins to rage. As one mother confronts the father of the other child, the other two spouses mediate. And when the peace is brokered, another word triggers off yet another argument.



As you begin to recognise the pattern of arguments in your life mirror the goings-on on the screen, you begin to enjoy the give and take of words. You begin to take sides. And you begin to identify with the intensity that the characters feel.

Anyone who has been or is, a part of a ‘couple’, not necessarily married, will recognise the character type and/or react to either the whole or part of the argument.



The most amazing part of this film is that you as audience do not even realise that the entire movie has taken place inside the house except for the opening and end credits (which you must not miss). The dialog is so sparkling that you will have a smile on your face when you hear a harried father actually admit (to the horror of the other three), ‘My son is a maniac.’

Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C Reilly make this movie (Sept 2011) being released this Friday a fun watch. Roman Polanski delivers a super paisa-vasool movie.