A flow of flashbacks and reveries, Ramsay’s hyper-fragmented film isn’t an adaptation of the book in the usual sense, more an impressionistic remix. The story’s horrific climax isn’t quite omitted but is treated so telegraphically that it seems to be happening backstage. It’s as if Ramsay is thinking between the lines of the book, rather than filming those lines themselves.

Joe Bini, editor of We need to talk about Kevin (Ramsay, 2011) made commercials and several independent and experimental films, among them Somber Accommodations with which he won the Special Jury Prize at the 1991 San Francisco International Film Festival. Was awarded Prix Vulcain De L’Artuste-Technicien, Special Distinction at Cannes Film Festival 2011 for his work on We Need to Talk About Kevin.

At the Sundance Institute he stated in his speech, “The single most important guiding principle that I have learned is that you can only be successful making films by being truthful—truthful about the process, about what you do and do not know, about what is and is not functioning, and to not delude yourself with fabulous montages, crafting the great acting performance or cultivating rock star dreams. Our job is to speak the truth, whether people want to hear it or not, and the truth is none of us know anything. We have to reinvent the wheel with each new film. Continue to strive towards making better films. The best way to do that is to continually educate yourselves about filmmaking.” https://www.sundance.org/blogs/program-spotlight/joe-bini-talks-the-art-of-editing-and-offers-a-cautionary-tale-for-editors-everywhere/