Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Back
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro
Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Parents guide

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Content rating

  • Motion Picture Rating (MPA)
    Rated R for disturbing violence and behavior, some sexuality and language

  • Sex & Nudity:
    Moderate
  • Violence & Gore:
    Moderate
  • Profanity:
    Moderate
  • Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking:
    Mild
  • Frightening & Intense Scenes:
    Severe

Sex & Nudity

Moderate
64 of 129 found this moderate
A teenage boy refers to a girl in his class jokingly as a "cunt" and says that his mother will probably lecture him about having sex with her.
A pregnant woman tries to tell her eight year old son about human reproduction.
A half-dressed man is seen in bed with a woman next to him.
At the beginning of the movie at a tomato festival, you can see a topless girl in the crowd. Not too explicit since it is shown from above.
You see a flashback showing buttock nudity
Brief scene of the wife performing oral on her husband. She is under the covers but her head is bobbing.
Disturbing scenes of child sexualisation and gratuitous, exploitative female nudity.
Female full & partial breast and buttock nudity.
A young boy who's obviously older than a toddler still wears diapers and gets his diaper changed in some scenes.
A man and woman are briefly shown rolling around in bed in a dark and hazy flashback. This scene lasts about a minute but it is very dark in the room.

Violence & Gore

Moderate
44 of 87 found this moderate
A boy is seen lying on a stretcher after being severely injured. Blood is seen. Later that same boy is seen in a wheelchair.
Implied references to prison rape and bullying; a teenage boy tells his mother that she has "no idea what happens in those places" in reference to the adult prison system, while looking nervous.
A woman slaps a woman harshly across the face. A nearby businessman then offers to call the police but the slapped woman tells him not to.
A woman is led by her lawyer from a courthouse and bombarded with news reporters. The woman is wearing stiletto heels and her ankles are seen twisting as she tries to make her way down the stairs.
A woman is carried through what at first appears to be some sort of river of blood. This is later revealed to be a tomato-throwing festival and nobody is actually hurt or injured.
In an impulsive act of frustration, a mother throws her son against a wall; his arm is seen dislocated, clearly broken. He is later shown in a cast.

Profanity

Moderate
40 of 69 found this moderate
Some mild name-calling ("retard", "stuck-up", "fat", "stupid", "dumb", "loser").
Some vulgar humor and scatological terms including "poop", "shit" and "piss". A boy is seen passing wind and defecating in a diaper on purpose to bug his mother.
Kevin gets taught about sex from his mother but he already knows what it is and calls it "fucking".
About 5 uses of "fuck" (once used sexually by a 7-year-old child), one use of "cunt". The same 7-year-old also says, "I don't give a rat's ass."

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

Mild
50 of 66 found this mild
Adults are sometimes shown casually drinking wine.
A woman's living room is very briefly shown shown with prescription bottles everywhere, some with pills spilt out; it is implied that her exposure to a traumatic event had lead to prescription drug abuse.
A character sarcastically mentions drugs.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

Severe
58 of 88 found this severe
A picture of a scary clown is seen on a computer laughing with the caption "you lose" typed over it. The clown has jagged teeth.
A mother yells at her toddler that she was happy before he came along, and that every day she wakes up wishing to be in France. The boy is visibly upset by this and cries.
Throughout the film there are many jarring and surprising scenes including strange noises in the soundtrack
The film, like its subject matter, is foreboding and creepy.
The film is centred around an antisocial child who frequently says and does disturbing and frightening things, his malevolent behavior constantly becoming more and more devious. He throws things, yells at his parents, verbally abuses and bullies his little sister, and never shows any sense of remorse (except for when it works to his advantage).

Certifications

Edit
  • Argentina
    • 18
  • Australia
    • MA15+
  • Brazil
    • 16
  • Canada
    • 14AAlberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario
    • 18AManitoba, Saskatchewan
    • 13+Québec
  • Finland
    • K-16
  • France
    • 12
  • Germany
    • 16
  • Hong Kong
    • IIB
  • Ireland
    • 16
    • 15video rating
  • Israel
    • 16
  • Italy
    • T
  • Japan
    • PG12
  • Lithuania
    • N-16
  • Malaysia
    • 18
  • Mexico
    • B15
  • Netherlands
    • 12
  • New Zealand
    • R16
  • Norway
    • 15cinema rating
  • Poland
    • 12self-applied
  • Portugal
    • M/16
  • Russia
    • 16+
  • Singapore
    • M18
  • South Africa
    • 16
  • South Korea
    • 18
  • Spain
    • 16ICAA
  • Sweden
    • 15
  • Switzerland
    • 16canton of Geneva
    • 16canton of Vaud
  • Taiwan
    • 12+
  • Turkey
    • 13+
  • United Kingdom
    • 15
  • United States
    • Rcertificate #46319
  • United Arab Emirates
    • Not Rated

More from this title

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.