Big Children

Hooray! A film about and for adults. "Little Children," directed by Todd Fields, looks at how childish and selfish adults can really be--how they cling to their past and refuse to grow up. Like "Short Cuts" and "House of Sand," the movie is adapted so well from its source material that you want to read the book after leaving the theater. The one minor problem I had with the flick was its tone. The film shifts subtly back and forth between satire and emotionally charged drama. Sometimes the viewer isn't sure if a scene is supposed to be funny or devastating. In the screening I attended, half of the audience was cracking up, while the other half was shooshing them.