We Need to Talk About Kevin

Armenian mother Eva Khatchadourian, once a successful travel writer, lives alone in a rundown house and works in a travel agency near a prison, where she visits her son, Kevin, who has been convicted of mass-murdering students at his high school. As she copes with the hostility of her neighbors, she reflects upon her memories of raising him. Despite being a reluctant mother, Eva decides to start a family with her husband, Franklin, giving birth to Kevin. From childhood, Eva views Kevin as detached and difficult. He appears to loathe and deliberately antagonize Eva, who struggles to bond with him. As a baby, he cries incessantly, but only around her; as a child, he resists toilet training, rebuffs Eva's attempts at affection, and shows no interest in anything. He behaves like a happy, loving son in front of his father, Franklin, who dismisses Eva's concerns and makes excuses for Kevin's behavior. One day, Eva cannot handle her frustration with Kevin and throws him against the wall, breaking his arm. Kevin tells Franklin he fell. When he touches his scar on his arm, Eva believes he is using the incident to manipulate her. When Kevin is confined to bed with a fever, he shows affection towards Eva for the first time as she reads Robin Hood, though his spiteful behavior returns as soon as he recovers. Franklin gives Kevin a bow and arrow and teaches him archery. Sometime later, Eva gives birth to their second child, Celia, a lively and cheerful girl towards whom Kevin is instantly disdainful. A few years later, Celia's pet guinea pig mysteriously goes missing. Eva finds its remains in the garbage disposal the next day, which she unclogs with drain cleaner. Celia is blinded in one eye after being exposed to the cleaner while Kevin was tasked with watching her, requiring her to wear a glass eye in its place. Eva suspects Kevin injured his sister on purpose, but Franklin defends him. Tired of Eva's distrust of their son, Franklin discusses divorce with her, and Kevin overhears their conversation. Three days before his 16th birthday, Kevin uses bicycle locks to trap several students in the school gymnasium and murders them with his bow and arrows. After witnessing Kevin's arrest and the bodies of his victims being carried away, Eva returns home to discover that Kevin has murdered Franklin and Celia as well. On the second anniversary of the massacre, Eva visits Kevin in prison. His demeanor has changed to demure and frightened in anticipation of turning 18 and being transferred to an adult prison. Eva asks him why he committed the murders. Kevin responds that he used to think he knew but is no longer sure. An officer informs that the visit time is over. Eva embraces Kevin and leaves.

Plot from We Need to Talk About Kevin (film)CC BY-SA 4.0