Director Watch Podcast Ep. 16 – ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ (Ramsay, 2011)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 16 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Lynne Ramsay series, We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).

After coming out with two films back to back early in her career, Ramsay took nine years to return to the big screen with her third feature film that sparked tons of divisive reactions and was regarded as one of the best films of 2011 and of the 2010s decade. A tense psychological thriller about a mother’s bond with her strange, disturbed child showcased Ramsay’s unique ability to build tension throughout a complicated story, as well as the talents of one of the best working actresses in modern cinema, Tilda Swinton. Ryan and Jay breakdown their thoughts on the film, if it’s still relevant subject matter about massive killings in America is handled properly as well as the narrative logistics of the aftermath, Swinton’s stellar career, the titular actor in this film and their body of work, and how much bleak punishment is okay to put on the audience with a movie like this.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h32m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series covering the films of Lynn Ramsay with a review of her fourth feature film, You Were Never Really Here. You can stream You Were Never Really Here on Amazon Prime Video, as well as rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it. 

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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