Little Children (2006)

A rustle in the manicured hedgerows; chintzy clocks ticking and tapping; the far-away hoot of a freight train... At the pool, swelling heat wave and paedo-panic. In the park, desolate housewives chatter of spa treatments, maternity leave, nappy contents. Something, clearly, has got to give... Todd Field’s second feature (after In The Bedroom) prickles with sterile threat and looming suburban doom. Smartly adapting Tom Perrotta’s celebrated novel, Field takes his good time finessing flesh around initially cartoonish characters, clenching the tension to an almost unbearable final 15 minutes before grinding home a rabbit-punch of a reveal (oohs, aahs and ouches at the preview screening).

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