Some films pack such an emotional punch that they remain with you long after the final credits. We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of those films. Featuring a career best central performance featuring the rawest of raw emotions from Tilda Swinton, it is profoundly moving and horrendously compelling.

The basis of Lynne Ramsay’s film, based on the novel by Lionel Shriver who called it “a brilliant adaptation”, is the strained relationship between a mother and her son.

Kevin screamed so much as a baby that for some peace, his mother stood next to an electric drill. As a child, he disobeyed her with impunity while turning on the charm for his father. As an adolescent, he goes on a killing spree at his high school.

Details of Kevin growing up are interspersed with how his mother Eva copes with her grief, questioning her responsibility for his actions, and being abused and shunned by the people in her small town, at one point even being assaulted in the street.

Spine-tingling and thought-provoking, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a masterpiece.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is being shown at the Watershed until at least November 3. Click here for more information.