Themes

Parent-child relationships

The film We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) directed by Lynn Ramsay explores the complexities of motherhood, portraying Eva's struggles in raising her challenging son, Kevin. It explores the intense feelings of guilt and responsibility that Eva experiences, especially in the aftermath of a tragic event involving Kevin. The film raises questions about the nature of parental responsibility and the societal expectations placed on mothers.

Throughout the film, Eva deals with the guilt for the part she played in Kevin’s motivation to commit a mass murder. The particular memories Eva focuses on and remembers again and again show that she is questioning whether her own actions led to Kevin’s crime. At the same time, Eva also never connected with the idea of motherhood and could never quite bond with Kevin. She remembers various events from the past which seem to show that Kevin was always a difficult child set on upsetting her. 

Overall, the film poses the question of whether Kevin was a difficult child from birth which is what prevented Eva from bonding with him and caused him to become a murderer or whether it was Eva’s detachment and lack of love and affection that influenced Kevin and caused him to lash out in such a tragic way. The film seems that the film suggests that in the nature versus nurture debate, the answer is complex and might involve a combination of both factors.

Despite the challenges and the disturbing events depicted in the film, the ending pr...