Little Children (DVD)

Todd Field directs this ensemble drama based on the novel by Tom Perrotta. Kate Winslet stars as Sarah, an educated young suburban mother frustrated with her narrow existence, who forges a friendship with local husband and father Brad (Patrick Wilson). Both share a discontentment with life in their small commuter town, and a lack of connection with their spouses: Sarah's uncomfortable marriage to the successful Richard (Gregg Edelman) parallels Brad's frustration with his aspirational documentary maker wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), and it isn't long before their friendship develops into a more complex entanglement. Meanwhile, the community is shaken by the discovery that a convicted sex offender (Jackie Earle Haley) is living in its midst.