Carnage

2011 Directed by Roman Polanski

A new comedy of no manners

After 11-year-old Zachary Cowan strikes his classmate across the face with a stick after an argument, the victim's parents invite Zachary's parents to their Brooklyn apartment to deal with the incident in a civilized manner.

Kate Winslet Jodie Foster Christoph Waltz John C. Reilly Elvis Polanski Eliot Berger Julie Adams Joseph Rezwin Tanya Lopert Nathan Rippy Lexie Kendrick

Alternative Titles

Un dios salvaje, Ο θεός της σφαγής, Deus da carnificina, Carnage - Der Gott des Gemetzels, 대학살의 신

comedy drama

80 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by brat pitt ★★★★ 1

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

why didn't kate winslet just GO INTO THE BATHROOM!!!!!
listen ... they told her like THREE times to go to the fucking bathroom. jodie foster said "maybe you should go to the bathroom?"
christoph waltz said "if you feel like you're gonna throw up go to the bathroom"
SPOILER: SHE DIDNT FUCKING GO TO THE BATHROOM AAAAHHHHH
Review by Lucy ★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I AM GLAD OUR SON KICKED THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR SON AND I WIPE MY ASS WITH YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS
Review by DirkH ★★★★ 3

Language. It can be used to create and to destroy. For me that's what this film was all about.
We see four people who slowly strip away social conventions and eventually show their true selves, all because of the incessant need to talk, justify oneself and outwit others.
You cannot get around the fact that this is a play. One location, four actors and an insane amount of dialogue. For a film like this to work the acting has to be perfect. And it is. All four of them are absolutely fantastic, they portray the slow descent into social and moral ambiguity in such a way that, although the characters are somewhat stereotypical, you always get the feeling you're watching…
Review by suzanne by leonard cohen ★★★★ 5

i wish i was married to christoph waltz
Review by adrianbalboa ★★★½ 12

this movie was a middle school staple of mine (because i had issues) and now that im an adult it’s my goal in life to produce a low budget production of this at some weird suburban community theater. you are all invited to sit on hard velvet seats and watch some white woman with 2 credits yell about suffering in africa and it’s gonna feel like you’re being held hostage and it’s gonna be horrible. coming fall 2022
Review by Peaceful Stoner ★★★★ 4

This is truly one of the most violent movies that I have come across. Violence in the sense which considers human emotions. The true colour, savageness,guilt,anger,ego,superficial empathy, crookedness, disgust that human beings have as their innate nature are shown in full glory here. All the leads are excellent. Foster does too much sometimes. But waltz and Reilly truly steal the show. I am searching for a single word which best describes the movie. But I dont seem to get it. Oh wait I got it. Its CARNAGE.
Review by brat pitt ★★★★

cant believe i watched a roman polanski film and ENJOYED IT but i do it all for my foxy grandpa christoph waltz <3
Review by Andreas Bardét ★★★★ 5

Oh ja! Ach einer der Filme, die über die Jahre wachsen.
Beim ersten Sichten kam ich gar nicht auf das Finale klar. Viel zu kurz und abrupt - ich kannte halt das Theaterstück nicht.
Mittlerweile ein wunderbar unterhaltsamer Film mit fiesen Kommentaren und Dialogen. Und über den Cast müssen wir sowieso nicht reden.
Und ich werde bis heute nicht verstehen, warum die Filme von Roman Polanski immer sofort als solche erkennbar sind. Ob es die Musik ist, der Schnitt, die Kamera… Oder alles zusammen? Ich weiß es nicht. Aber ich mag es sehr gerne.
Review by Mads Ej ★★★★½ 2

Nancy Cowan: At least our kid isn't a little wimpy-ass faggot!
Penelope Longstreet: Yours is a FUCKING SNITCH!
I have always loved one location movie and the fact that this was filmed in real time too just makes me love it even more. Besides from that it was overall very well made and the short runtime made it an easy and enjoyable watch.
We follow two couples whose sons have had a fight. They are trying to respectfully handle the situation and solve their sons’ problems but they start to argue themselves. The characters take turns with who they are getting along with and the couples even start having their own internal conflicts.
The cast is fantastic and the four…
Review by ellie ✨ ★★★★

jodie foster yelling, "don't you tell me about africa. i know all about suffering in africa!" was the best line-reading of the last decade
Review by Ryan Francis ★★★★

It astounds me - even more so on rewatch - that a film that, aside from the opening and closing shots, basically only takes place in the living room of an apartment (occasionally moving out to the hallway and brief moments throughout other parts of the home) with four people bickering at one another for 80 minutes, can be so intriguing and consistently entertaining. It's quite impressive. Roman Polanski's spot-on direction, the interesting dialogue and, of course, the excellent performances from the four actors themselves is what truly keeps this from ever becoming a monotonous mess of a film.
Plus, ever since first seeing Christoph Waltz in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds back in '09, I always look forward to and love seeing him in things. This is no exception.
Review by kayla ★★★★

The whole thing is so funny to me. The casting was so perfect they really couldn’t have chosen a better actor for each character

Recent reviews

Review by The_Other_Tyler ★★★½

A classic example of how to do a cinematic play, "Carnage" is at its best when it just sits back and lets its quartet of amazing actors go to town on the terrific dialogue.
No one is who they say they are. Only a few are who they think they are. And no one is actually likeable . . . except maybe Kate Winslet.
P.S. Has John C. Riley really just been dressing up as a liberal all these years?
Review by √aibhav ★★★½

Chamber piece comedy done well
Review by Mrizzle1991 ★★★½

7.5/10
Christioph Waltz’s phone calls are some great subtle comedy.
66/365
Review by iwannasay elijahwood ★★★★½

Perhaps an allegory for united states foreign policy? I will dig deeper and come back here with my findings...
Review by Ryan Roberts ★★★

I love these type of short bottle dialogue heavy films every once in a while. This was the night for this, super entertaining I’m glad I watched. This is an engaging story that got almost hard to watch because of how insufferable it’s characters were, but not in a bad way, that means the movie and the actors were doing their job. Truly nobody can play an utter piece of shit like Christoph Waltz.
Review by Marcos ★★★½ 1

yeah fuck you roman polanski
however this is indeed a banger
Review by Jethro ★★★½ 1

Watch this for excessive:
1. Awkwardness
2. Awkward silence
3. Passive aggression AND aggression
4. Subtle insults
5. Hidden/subtle disgust
6. Hospitality
7. Forced small talk
8. Family and private life exposed
9. Everyone getting comfortable
10. Talking sh*t about people when you think they’re not listening
11. Speaking too soon and not being able to take it back
12. Verbal arguments and choice of words
13. The dads drinking
14. The moms drinking
15. Letting out true feelings HAHAHA
16. Exposing their secrets and vulnerabilities
17. Everyone taking sides and switching depending on topic
18. Everyone having the worst day of their lives
19. “I need to go — eh I’ll stick around”
20. Did I mention awkwardness?
A pretty fun and hilarious film, the dialogue feels so natural and genuine. And yeah, it feels like a play.

That ending ahahahahahahahaha
Review by matt__ ★★★½

Un film assez mineur dans la carrière de Polanski mais qui reste d’une maîtrise et d’une justesse folle. Les acteurs en sont bien sûr pour beaucoup dans la qualité du film , le quatuor fonctionne vraiment bien et ils sont tous excellents .C’est du Polanski donc au niveau de la mise en scène c’est toujours aussi juste et prenant , l’écriture est aussi phénoménale.
Review by 💝Mister Gaga💝 ★★★★½ 4

Carnage is one hell of an intense ride.
Now I'll start by saying, I love how this film gets on an extremely high tension by each subjects thrown away by each one of the four main leads. You know, it starts smoothly and serenely. Things during this first part of the films goes easy. You have Penelope played by Jodie Foster soothing things, Nancy and Alan played by both Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz who are the understanding parents with Alan being coolly irritating, and Michael just being a supportive husband.
But as the story progresses, it gets more heated up. A lot of things happen in this film. You get Kate Winslet vomiting, a scotch drinking time, a husband…
Review by ‮שיטי אס‬ ★★★½

יאללה איפה אני משיגה את הויסקי הזה
Review by Danevo ★★★★

לא ציפיתי ליצירת מופת ולא קיבלתי אחת כזו, הסרט לא מנסה להיות פורץ דרך או משהו אבל הוא עדיין כיפי לצפייה והמשחק בו מדהים במיוחד של ג'ודי פוסטר וכריסטופר ואלץ
8/10
Review by Magic_Lobster ★★★½

Ok, so if you want to make a film based on a theatrical play you just need to find 4 good actors.