Men, Women & Children

Eminent writer/director Jason Reitman, best known for Juno (2007), arguably spawned an entire movement of film and television that represents modern suburbia with some convincing truth.

His characters are grounded by true-to-life boundaries and mostly treat each other with kindness and respect, the way most of us do. Men, Women & Children is an ambitious but logical step for Reitman. The cast, led by Adam Sandler and Jennifer Garner, are still amiable and driven by regular problems such as losing interest in your partner and the obsession with celebrity. But by opening the film with shots of earth from space, Reitman forces us to view this all through a philosophical frame, one that means we cannot help but be fascinated by these creatures and what drives them.

The film follows a group of high school students and their parents, who navigate divorce, adultery, anorexia, virtual life and generally struggling to fit in. There isn’t much new here, but Reitman does a fantastic job of weaving the virtual world of social media into the dialogue, the way it should be when representing the current generation of teenagers. The film is a heart-warming snapshot of post-9/11 America that fails only in not exploring the depths of our nasty obsessions.

In cinemas 27 Nov.