Men, Women and Children

Director Jason Reitman and his co-writer Erin Cressida Wilson (adapting Chad Kultgen's novel) explore the Internet's effect on a group of suburban families: a mother's (Jennifer Garner) protective urge toward her daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) morphs into control-freak obsession; a bored couple (Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt) troll for sex, each unaware of what the other is up to; a wannabe actress/model (Olivia Crocicchia) and her mother (Judy Greer) let her Web site slide into porn, etc. Meanwhile, texts and IMs pepper the screen like Shakespearean asides, adding layers of secrecy. Over it all is a God's-eye-view narration by Emma Thompson that makes the movie feel at times like an illustrated audio book, telling things Reitman doesn't show. The movie is well-acted but inconclusive—which may be the point.