Tom Perrotta, author of “Election” which was made into a fine film starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, teamed up with Todd Field, director of the exceptionally well-made “In the Bedroom,” to turn his book “Little Children” into a film of the same name. The result is another great film. It is thought-provoking, entertaining and at times both heart-breaking and wildly amusing. It is also an absolute entry on my list of top 10 films of the year.

The story follows Sarah, (Kate Winslet) a married mother of a three year old girl, and Brad (Patrick Wilson), a married father of a three year old boy. They meet at a local playground and gradually become friends. Eventually the friendship becomes an affair. The film deals with much more than the pair’s infidelity though. Ronald James McGorvey (Jackie Earle Haley), a man who was arrested for indecent exposure, has been released from jail and the neighborhood is up in arms about his proximity to the local families. No one seems to take his re-emergence in the community harder than Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich) an ex-cop, who forms a one man committee of concerned parents. The stories in the film blend together seamlessly, thanks in part to a rich narration straight from Perrota’s excellent novel.

“Little Children” examines the stunted growth of the two leads. Sarah is a frustrated academic who feels she put her life on hold to become a mother, while Brad has failed the Bar Exam three times and watches kids skateboard by the library instead of going in to study. Their affair seems to reinvigorate their lives, yet they still aren’t progressing in their lives in any way. It comes off as nothing more than two adults playing at being in love.

The hard-hitting part of the film, what vaults “Little Children” into one of the best movies of the year is the plot that focuses on Ronnie. His “sickness” has stunted him in a way as well. He moves back in with his elderly mother, played beautifully by Phyllis Somerville, and can’t get his life on track either. This is partially due to the fact that no one in the community forgives him and makes him perhaps more of a monster than he really is, but it is also because there is something wrong with him.

That uncertainty is in every scene with Ronnie and it is also why Haley (who played Kelly Leak in “The Bad News Bears”) should easily win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Somerville should also score a nomination for her part, one that showcases a mother’s undying love for her child. They are part of a terrific cast, one that makes all the right choices in each scene, under the masterful direction of Field, who knows how to paint powerful pictures in innocuous suburban settings on the screen.

As for missteps, there are few. The one thing that bothered me was the dropping of the sub-plot involving Sarah’s husband and the obsession that led to him drifting from his family and creating a separation in their household in the first place. The cut may have been made for time constraints but it was well-handled in the book and rounded out both his and Sarah’s story.

The bad days at the movies are gone and with “The Departed” and “Little Children” now in theaters, viewers can start catching films that are sure to be recognized come Oscar time.

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