Carnage The Movie: A Caricature Of Everyday Life

A movie that takes place in almost only one room with only four actors may not sound very appealing. However, Carnage is a movie that has turned out to be a great parody of everyday life. Roman Polanski’s film is an adaptation of Yasmina Reza ‘s play “ Le Dieu du Carnage ” (“The God of the Massacre”).

The cast of the film was without a doubt phenomenal. Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly starred. It is a short film and rather static in the sense of the spaces used in it.

There are also very few characters, but the script is very telling. The impact of the film therefore lies in this and in the acting.

Carnage : a conflict over children?

It starts with an argument between two children in a park. This is also the only scene that takes place outdoors. The quarrel ends when one hits the other with a stick. Then we end up in the house of the Longstreet family.

This includes the child who has been beaten (and wounded in the mouth). His parents invite the parents of the other child to their apartment to come to a solution together. The two families are:

• The Cowan family, the parents of the “perpetrator.” This is an elegant, sophisticated couple. The father, Alan (Christoph Waltz), is a well-known lawyer with no qualms. The mother, Nancy (Kate Winslet) is a financial investor of questionable morality. They all seem to be a good, wealthy family enjoying their social status. However, we quickly realize that behind their appearance lies a great deal of hypocrisy and falsehood.

• The Longstreet family,  the parents of the “victim.” This is a couple who try to be good, who are peace-loving and who like to resolve conflicts in a polite way. Michael (John C. Reilly), the father, seems to be a calm, easy going, well-meaning man. He tries to disarm the people in this tense situation a bit. Penelope (Jodie Foster), the mother, is known for her pacifism. She is also an author. That said, her animosity towards her “guests” is noticeable right from the start.

Knives will fly

As the film progresses,  the parents reveal what lies behind their masks. They are shifting from their political correctness to public aggression. Even Michael, who just wanted to keep the peace, shows a darker, meaner side of himself.

The conversation turns into a veritable verbal slaughter (“carnage” in English, hence the title).  Metaphorical knives are flying around. What was initially supposed to be a peaceful attempt at problem-solving, while setting an example for their children, becomes one big mess. Each of the parents sooner or later shows his true nature.

Logical reasoning and coherence are no longer an option. Everyone becomes more aggressive. We’re about to see the worst of each character as they drive each other to the ground. This apparently serious situation eventually becomes a simply absurd — even childish — quarrel.

Carnage and selfishness

Carnage explores  the most primitive impulse we know as humans. Our more intense, darker side is revealed in an increasingly tense situation. Every time the Cowans try to leave the apartment, they are dragged back in by another ramification of the spat between them and the Longstreet family.

Quarrels often follow circular patterns and send us down one-way streets with  no way out. Just when it starts to look like the problems have been solved, something new is brought up that needs to be argued. In this way we continue to provoke conflict situations.

That’s how it goes in the movie. The families are each other’s figurative hostages. They are stuck between the four walls of that one room and seem to be getting nowhere.

At one point in the film, the Cowan family even makes it to the elevator. It seems that the arguing is over, but suddenly they are approached again about something else and they end up in the living room again.

These quarrels develop into a war between the two families, which eventually culminates in a fight between men and women. This is followed by a phase in which it is every man for himself. Everyone only defends themselves and  human stubbornness shows itself. 

Everyone thinks he or she is right. Every participant in the fight thinks that if everyone thought like him or her, the world would be a better place.

Carnage  is a poignant parody of human nature. We see characters deploying all kinds of low-level defenses. As a result, they miss the point they are trying to make and are just a little too eager to let others down.

social criticism

We get to see reality when the characters leave their socially desirable habits behind. Thus, when we see their true character, we also see the hypocrisy and lack of morality in our entire world.

In this way Polanski gives us a pessimistic view of our daily lives. He succeeds in this so clearly because the characters in the film are so familiar to us. It’s easy to see yourself in at least one of these.

The film criticizes the  importance we place on money and status,  particularly through Alan Cowan. He is more concerned with his job than with his relationships with others. He hardly shows any interest in his son.

Who also get to see him as some sort of  immoral character  when we discover that his job is defending a pharmaceutical company whose medication has serious health side effects.

He also appears to be glued to his phone. He works continuously. This allows him to maneuver past potential quarrels, but this attitude will ultimately only add to the conflict as it hinders communication between the two families.

Penelope Longstreet  seems to be the opposite of Alan. She is very focused on humanistic goals and is very aware of problems experienced by people in developing countries. However, she believes everything she is told, she is naive.

She also does not see why Sudan actually receives aid from the west. This is because (as emphasized in the film) this does not happen out of the goodness of the hearts of the world leaders.

Criticism, Comedy and Realism

This chaotic, meaningless situation leads to nothing. The great thing about this movie is that the kids eventually teach their parents a lesson. It’s only a short scene and it takes place in the same park where the movie started. Here the children eventually make up with each other and move on with their lives.

This makes us think about the fact that  sometimes we may be complicating things too much. Everything could just be reduced to a simple discussion and a handshake between two children.

Criticism, comedy and realism  come  together beautifully in  Carnage . It shows us an everyday situation but goes beyond the feigned smiles. In this way man is unmasked and portrayed as a captive animal.

This animal breaks loose and turns out to be a violent, selfish creature. Carnage is an artistic caricature of contemporary society: a look at the scope of human stupidity.