Parents' Guide to

Suburbicon

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Depressing, violent dark comedy is a big misfire.

Movie R 2017 104 minutes
Suburbicon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Moneydog23
Moneydog23 Adult
January 20, 2020
age 15+

This title has:

Too much violence
Nancy C.
Nancy C. Adult
October 31, 2017
age 17+

Scary for kids but a good message for adults

I watched this movie and would not recommend children under 16 or 17 seeing it. The scenes were intense when it came to the boy in the movie and shocking. However, I think the movie is a great one for adults. The message that I got from the movie is that people get so caught up in their own prejudices that they loose sight of everything else. Including a murder and treachery next door. It also shows that while the bigoted adults are acting like children, the kids are innocently playing with each other. Frankly, I think a lot of the negativity I have seen around this movie is that many people do not like the message or that they are at the movie because they perceived it as a comedy. It is a dark comedy that reminded me of Fargo in some ways. But I and my husband really liked it.
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What's the Story?

In SUBURBICON, it's the 1950s, and Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) lives with his family in an all-white suburban neighborhood. Then the friendly African-American Mayers family moves in nearby, and Gardner's son Nicky (Noah Jupe) befriends their son, Andy (Tony Espinosa). Meanwhile, two men (Glenn Fleshler and Alex Hassell) break into the Lodges' house and use chloroform to subdue his wife, the wheelchair-bound Rose (Julianne Moore); her twin sister, Margaret (also Moore); and Nicky. Clues quickly indicate that Gardner and Margaret have hired the thugs themselves to knock off Rose, and when an insurance claims inspector (Oscar Isaac) arrives, things escalate. Meanwhile, the white neighbors have begun to terrorize the Mayers family, making noise, throwing things, and, finally, vandalizing their home. Can order be restored to Suburbicon?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (4):

Resurrecting an old Coen brothers script, this would-be dark comedy is a depressing misfire, a baffling, awkward combination of nasty thrills and grim, ham-fisted social commentary. The only redeeming value in Suburbicon, which was directed by George Clooney, is its depiction of racism as vulgar and ugly; it's far blunter in this respect than more nuanced movies like Marshall or Selma. On the other hand, the fact that the African-American characters are the only good people in the movie (aside from white youth Nicky) is pretty obvious and not very useful.

As for the murder storyline, it's distasteful, focusing on sociopathic characters with no moral center. The adults' lack of love and protection for the young boy is shocking, almost sickening. There's simply no way to care about these characters or their outcome. The movie's two story threads tentatively, awkwardly meet up at the end, but with no payoff. Clooney has directed duds before (Leatherheads, The Monuments Men), but nothing this head-scratchingly bad. Perhaps that Coen brothers screenplay -- which was re-written by Clooney and Grant Heslov -- should have stayed abandoned.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Suburbicon's violence. What role does race/racism play in it? What message does that send? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • How does the movie present racism? How does it compare to how other movies and TV shows have tackled this issue?

  • How is sex depicted in this movie? Does it appear to be based on love and trust? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • What is a dark comedy? How does this movie fit that description?

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