''Carnage'' is a 2011

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

directed by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

, based on the Tony Award-winning 2006 play '' Le Dieu du carnage'' by French playwright

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...

. The screenplay is by Reza and Polanski. The film is an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It stars

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, inc ...

Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian-German actor. Since 2009 he has been primarily active in the United States. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and two Scree ...

, and

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in '' Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

. In this

comedy of errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...

, two sets of parents try to resolve a situation in a civilised manner as their idiosyncrasies rise to the surface. ''Carnage'' premiered at the

2011 Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino w ...

on 1 September 2011, where it competed for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

. It was theatrically released on 18 November 2011. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the performances of Foster and Winslet and Polanski's direction. At the 69th Golden Globe Awards, Foster and Winslet received nominations for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. As of 2022, it is Polanski's last film to be shot in English until his upcoming film ''

The Palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King ...

''.

Plot

When two grade-school boys get into a fight in the park that results in one boy, Zachary Cowan, hitting the other, Ethan Longstreet, in the face with a stick, their parents meet in a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

apartment to discuss the matter. Zachary's parents, Alan (

) and Nancy Cowan (

), visit the home of Michael (

) and Penelope Longstreet (

), Ethan's parents. Their meeting is initially intended to be short, but due to various circumstances, the conversation continues to draw out. In fact, Alan and Nancy begin to leave the apartment on two occasions, but are drawn back in to further discussion. At first, the couples are friendly to each other, but their respective comments start to hurt feelings, making everyone argue with one another. Apart from fighting amongst themselves, the couples blame each other about who is responsible for the fight between their sons. Nancy calls the Longstreets "superficially fair-minded" and Penelope and Michael complain about Alan's arrogant and dull attitude. Everyone also gets irritated with Alan when he accepts endless business phone calls on his

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

, interrupting the discussion, and showing he has more interest in his business problems than the matter at hand. Michael also receives many phone calls from his ailing mother, to his frustration. Nancy accuses Michael of being a murderer because he, annoyed by the constant noise it made during the night, had earlier turned his daughter Courtney's pet hamster loose in the street. Penelope becomes emotional about the hamster and with everyone arguing with each other. Other issues include a risky drug Alan is working to defend and Michael's mother has been prescribed, and the question of idealism and responsibility that is part of Penelope's current work. Michael offers everyone a glass of fine scotch. Penelope claims she doesn't "get drunk" and Nancy drinks way too many and finally stops Alan's phone calls by dropping his cellphone in Penelope's flower vase full of tulips and water. Penelope and Nancy both laugh uproariously while Michael and Alan try to blow-dry the BlackBerry. The conversation continues to decay into personal attacks and opinionated statements and, eventually, epithets are uttered. Penelope is ranting, calling Nancy's son a 'snitch', and Nancy's true colors are revealed when she destroys the tulips and drunkenly and vulgarly states she is glad that her son beat up Penelope's and Michael's son. The couples realize the conversation is going nowhere. Alan's BlackBerry, lying on the coffee table, vibrates, and all four stare at it. The film cuts to the hamster, alive and well in the park, where Ethan and Zachary are reconciling on their own.

Cast

as Penelope Longstreet *

as Nancy Cowan *

as Alan Cowan *

as Michael Longstreet * Elvis Polanski as Zachary Cowan * Eliot Berger as Ethan Longstreet *

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

as Alan’s secretary *

as a neighbor (uncredited cameo)

Production

Although set in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the film was shot in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, because of Polanski's fugitive status. The opening and closing scenes, ostensibly filmed in Brooklyn Bridge Park, were shot in France against a green screen. Polanski's son Elvis, seen only in long shots in the opening and closing scenes, portrays the Cowans' son. Actress

(famous for ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'') voices Alan Cowan's secretary on the phone, and was a dialect coach for Waltz. The apartment, in which almost the whole film takes place, was designed in a sound studio on the outskirts of Paris. Production designer Dean Tavoularis placed a priority on making the set look authentically American, having numerous products and appliances shipped from the US, and renting American ironmongery for the doors.

Release

The film premiered at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

. The film was released in the United States on 16 December 2011 by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...

Reception

Critical response

''Carnage'' received generally positive reviews from critics. It holds "fresh" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, which notes that "it isn't as compelling on the screen as it was on the stage, but ''Carnage'' makes up for its flaws with Polanski's smooth direction and assured performances from Winslet and Foster." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses an average of the critics' reviews, the film holds a 61/100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews"."Carnage Reviews, Ratings, Credits"
''

''.

CBS Interactive Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of Paramount Global, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These incl ...

. Retrieved 16 December 2011. John Anderson of ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' compared the film to ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' and said: "The astonishing Waltz steals the picture, possibly because he's the one with a rational perspective (despite his telephonic obsessiveness). He sees the whole exercise as pointless. Ultimately, so do we." Giuseppe Sedia of the ''

Krakow Post The ''Krakow Post'' is an English-language newspaper based in Kraków, Poland. Owned by Lifeboat Limited since 2008, the monthly newspaper covers local and national news, politics, culture, business, sports, and human interest stories. History ...

'' remarked that the descent of four adults to a thuggish level has been featured as well in Polanski's short film '' Rozbijemy zabawę''. He added that "it is interesting to speculate on what Hitchcock might have made of Reza's oeuvre".

Box office

''Carnage'' grossed $2.5 million at the U.S. box office after twenty weeks in theaters, with another $25 million in foreign countries, for a worldwide gross of $27,603,069.

Accolades

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Jodie Foster (nominee)
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Kate Winslet (nominee)

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture - Kate Winslet (nominee)
Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture - Christoph Waltz (nominee)

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

- Kate Winslet (nominee)
Best Screenwriter - Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza (nominee)

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

Best European Film - Roman Polanski (nominee)

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

Best Writing – Adaptation - Roman Polanski and Yasmina Reza (nominee) Cinema Writers of Spain
Best Adapted Screenplay - Roman Polanski, Yasmina Reza (nominee)

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make “Boston’s unique critical perspective heard on a national and internati ...

Best Ensemble Cast - Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) is an organization of film reviewers from San Diego-based publications that was founded in 1997. Overview The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) is composed of print, television, radio and digital ...

Best Ensemble Performance - Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly (nominee)

Nominated - Golden Lion
Won - Little Golden Lion

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnage 2011 films 2011 comedy-drama films French comedy-drama films German black comedy films German comedy-drama films Spanish independent films Polish black comedy films American comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films Films directed by Roman Polanski Spanish black comedy films French black comedy films American black comedy films Films about dysfunctional families Films about social class French films based on plays Films set in apartment buildings Films set in Brooklyn Films shot in Paris Constantin Film films Sony Pictures Classics films French independent films German independent films Polish independent films American independent films Films scored by Alexandre Desplat Films with screenplays by Roman Polanski English-language French films English-language German films English-language Spanish films English-language Polish films 2010s American films 2010s French films 2010s German films