Roman Polanski's adaptation of Le Dieu du Carnage (God of Carnage), Yasmina Reza's hit play, is a tightly wound, enjoyably cynical little chamber piece that features four indecently entertaining performances courtesy of Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C Reilly. Taking place in a slightly cramped upscale Brooklyn apartment (beautifully re-created by production designer Dean Tavoularis on a sound stage in Paris), it has a quartet of New Yorkers meeting to discuss a fight in the park during which one of their sons has sustained a couple of damaged teeth. But slowly their attempt to forestall legal difficulties flounders and their superficial civility melts away in an escalating cacophony of yelling, drowned mobile phones and projectile vomiting. The four leads are all on top form, but worthy of special mention is Christoph Waltz's Alan, a cynical corporate lawyer whose nihilist world view gives the film its title. At around 80 minutes it's short, sharp, very funny, and shows Polanski at the peak of his powers. Incidentally, you might want to watch through the end titles, not only to enjoy Alexander Desplat's thrumming score, but for a tiny, although important, mischievous moment that occurs in the middle distance.