While by no means his most inventive work, Jason Reitman’s (director of the brilliant film Young Adult) new Men, Women & Children is a subtle investigation into our times. There has been no shortage of commentary on how social media and the pervasive technology that comes with it might not be such a good thing, and with this film the director tries to encapsulate a lot of those feelings, subtly revealing how it all effects a group of young adults and their parents.
Utilizing graphics to represent many of the images and communications that fly between these characters via the web and their handhelds, the filmmakers also rely on some scenarios that border on the cliché: Rosemarie Dewitt and Adam Sandler’s portrait of an adulterous couple felt well-trodden.
However, Ansel Elgort and especially Kaitlyn Dever are given their due in focus and screen time in Men, Women & Children, further proving their talent at bringing a raw and vulnerable reality to the teen experience. Other excellent cast members include Jennifer Garner as Kaitlyn’s monstrously invasive (and hence, terrible) mother, Judy Greer as another not-so-great mom, and Olivia Crocicchia as the daughter harmed by the latter mother’s ignorance.
Kudos also to Dean Norris, the most underappreciated (and best) part of Breaking Bad, who plays Ansel’s jock dad. On the whole, Men, Women & Children feels somewhat disjointed, but it also sometimes comes close to a disturbing and effective extension of American Beauty for the digital age.
Men Women and Children comes out nationwide 10/17.
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