'Carnage' review

John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet (Credit: Guy Ferrandis/Sony Classics)

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Two sets of Brooklyn parents meet at one couple's apartment after their sons get into a nasty playground fight. There's boho writer Penelope (Jodie Foster) and her hunky-dory salesman of a husband Michael (John C. Reilly), who try to figure out a proper solution with curt investment banker Nancy (Kate Winslet) and her douchebag lawyer husband Alan (Christoph Waltz). Over the course of the day, civility degenerates into all-out mayhem as the couples learn that their kids aren't the only ones indulging in childish behavior.

The buzz: C'mon, with a cast like this? It’s an Oscar show-and-tell! The quartet were no doubt drawn to the project's prestigious pedigree. It started out as an acclaimed play written by French playwright Yasmina Reza that earned raves in Europe before making its way to Broadway, where it won three Tony awards including Best Play. Meaning: There are long, meaty monologues that always prove irresistible to actors. Throw in Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski for this big-screen adaptation, and you've got a can't-miss proposition.

The verdict: It's A-list actors gone wild! Brace yourself for loads of puking, boozing, screaming and vilifying (not necessarily in that order) in an uproarious bloodshed of politesse. This arch and pitch-black farce is wicked fun, as characters switch allegiances—couple vs. couple; men vs. women—during an increasingly ugly smackdown over parenting styles and personality conflicts. The destructive, two-couple setup strongly recalls "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," but the key difference is that the vitriol here is steeped in pride rather than self-loathing. The compact movie—it's just under 80 minutes long, unspools in real time, and takes place in a single location—moves at a stealthy pace, and the top-notch cast flings one acidic quip after another with passive-aggressive gusto. Reilly, in particular, is a standout, going from gummy cheerfulness to bitter dyspeptic with caustic, comic vigor. He's like a trainwreck happening in slow motion. If there's a weak link, it's Foster. As the crunchy idealist who spews out everything on her mind, she's clearly the engine that powers this meltdown of manners. But the two-time Oscar winner often goes too broad with the character, sliding into fits of surface hysteria that reach for laughs outside her grasp. Is it a dismal buzz-killer? Hardly. On the whole, "Carnage" offers up a bloody good slab of black humor to sink your teeth into.

Did you know? Because of Polanski's extradition woes, the film was actually shot in Paris. Sneaky visual effects create the illusion of a rolling Manhattan skyline beyond the windows of the apartment where the action takes place.

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