In this comedy of errors, two sets of parents try to resolve a situation in a civilised manner as their idiosyncrasies rise to the surface.

The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the performances of the cast and Polanski's direction.

At the 69th Golden Globe Awards, Foster and Winslet received nominations for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Nancy calls the Longstreets "superficially fair-minded" and Penelope and Michael complain about Alan's arrogant and dull attitude.

Nancy accuses Michael of being a murderer because he, annoyed by the constant noise it made during the night, had earlier turned his daughter Courtney's pet hamster loose in the street.

The opening and closing scenes, ostensibly filmed in Brooklyn Bridge Park, were shot in France against a green screen.

Actress Julie Adams voices Alan Cowan's secretary on the phone and was a dialect coach for Waltz.

The website's consensus reads: "It isn't as compelling on the screen as it was on the stage, but Carnage makes up for its flaws with Polanski's smooth direction and assured performances from Winslet and Foster.

"[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

"[12] Giuseppe Sedia of the Krakow Post remarked that the descent of four adults to a thuggish level has been featured as well in Polanski's short film Rozbijemy zabawę.