We Need to Talk About Kevin Context

Social

Broken families and genetics ... nature or nurture. The film replicates modern concerns about having a traditional family; having a child and working, particularly for women.

Another social concern that the film explores is the discussion about the ‘nature or nurture’. In other words is in the nature of a humans to be born “psychopaths” ? or is it the way they’ve been mature/ thought by the people around them?

These questions have been particularly raisin in Western cultures, that they’ve been influenced by advances in genetic and behavioural sciences.

Historical

High school killings/shootings and contemporary worries concerning terrorism had an important impact on contextual issues surrounding this film; It explores central areas of contemporary debate regarding causes and solutions for such crimes. The fact that the book struggled to get published when 9/11 happened ,added to its reputation, and that of the film, later. The political climate of the United States in 2001 also mimics Eva and Franklin's marriage. During the Bush/Gore election, the country reached a stalemate. No one knew who the president would be, and neither side wanted to compromise. This isn't the America Franklin believed in ,or even the America Eva thought it was.As ,she always thought America was a save place ...until  Kevin destroyed her illusions.As much as Eva disliked Kevin, she never thought he would commit the crime that he did.It just couldn't happen right at home like that :'This was America",she thought.    

 

Political

Political discussions about the nature of crime and punishment, particularly in regard to issues of criminal responsibility and terrorism have been frequent and intense in the UK and internationally. The question about Kevin’s criminal responsibility because of his age and family’s background, as well as his mental state. Similarly, there are interesting political debates raised by the film in the nature of Eva’s character and her relationship with Kevin.Eva’s case seems to be that Kevin was born a psychopath—a psychopath whose whole life is geared toward tormenting her. Kevin’s cruelties appear to be designed with his mother as the audience. Shriver makes much of the parallels between Eva and Kevin, and some of the most memorable shots in the film position mother and son as doubles of one another.  The film raises issues of a woman’s responsibilities to her children and broaches the taboo subject of a mother who doesn’t seem to like her children.

Institutional

 • The film was mainly funded by the BBC which had trouble, at times, raising the necessary funds for the high budget. There was a long delay in the production because of shortage of money caused Ramsay to rewrite the script so that it could be made cheaper. Ramsay says that this forced her to be more creative and natural, but she also said that the support from UK Film and the BBC gave her a support network that not many other independent filmmakers have, particularly when making films in the US.