Shaw Festival Films - my take so far

I saw Little Children this weekend as part of the Shaw Festival film series. It's a disturbing as hell indictment of suburban life and middle-class marriage. The group of park and pool mums and tots is as frightening as any gang in the Bronx. Three mothers in particular remind me of a coven of witches. Kate Winslett is Sarah, a mum who doesn't fit in. She forgets to prepare snacks for her daughter and is vilified by the other mothers for it. Her husband is a constipated, frustrated guy and it's tough to imagine how they ever hooked up and produced a child. Kate has an affair with Brad, a childish, hunky, underachiever who lies about everything to his wife, Kathy, a beautiful documentary maker. His pouting about not being allowed to have a cell phone illustrates the marital dynamic: Brad is a bad little boy who won't do as he's supposed to; Kathy is the hard working discipinarian. When Kathy discovers Brad's infidelity she calls her mother in to ride herd on him while she's at work. In the background of this sex in suburbia tale the story of a recently released pedophile who has become the focus of the community's deepest fears unfolds.
The performances are terrific; I especially like the older women who play small but sympathetic roles in the film. The book club scene, with these women and two "little sisters" is my favourite. The mother of the pedophile also engages us in a positive way.
The humour is very dark and the main characters are all damaged in some way. I left the theatre feeling very unsettled but I liked it. I suspect, though, that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

The other films I've seen in the series are: Little Miss Sunshine (I liked it, who wouldn't?) ,Catch a Fire (so-so but I thought Tim Robbins was great), Joyeux Noel (overly sentimental but perfect for Christmas), Shut Up and Sing (pretty good, I liked the way the largely older, upper middle class audience booed George Bush), Marie Antoinette (a very pretty movie. I liked it more than my friends did), Volver (funny, great direction by Almodovar who got terrific performances out of all the actresses).