In spite of a great trailer, my enthusiasm over seeing Roman Polanski‘s Carnage has dimmed with the arrival of some lukewarm festival reviews. Among them, the recurring complaint is that the adaptation of Yasmina Reza‘s play “isn’t cinematic enough” breaks my heart; a Polanski movie being designated as such feels nearly impossible. And when it stars Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, and Jodie Foster, one definitely hopes for that to not be true.

A new, domestic trailer from Yahoo! makes this reaction even more difficult to believe. It would be enough if the film looked funny — which it very much does — but the performances from the four leads, even in this brief window, look both layered and varied from their three counterparts. It’s tough to gauge how Polanski‘s direction will work here, but with most of the shots involving the actors sitting or standing around an apartment, I get an idea of how it could simply feel like a stage play. Regardless, this has rejuvenated my interest.

Watch it below:

Synopsis: After two boys duke it out on a playground, the parents of the “victim” invite the parents of the “bully” over to work out their issues. A polite discussion of child rearing soon escalates into verbal warfare, with all four parents revealing their true colors. None of them will escape the carnage.

Carnage opens in limited release on December 16th.

What do you think of this trailer, and how does it compare to the first? Have early reviews altered expectations?