Review of Palindromes (2005) by Gianni V — 07 Jan 2008
Todd Solondz never fails to shock and awe. Spending his personal savings to finance, as (unsurprisingly) he couldn't get backing, this is Solondz's controversial and somewhat pro-life leaning melodrama (or is it tongue-in-cheek?) on a 12-year-old girl who desperately wants to get pregnant, as well as out-of-the-norm looks at pedophilia and abortion, among other themes.
The film is a cyclical, warped plethora of characters, including the return of Dawn and Mark Wiener. Twisted character-driven story like Happiness, but much harder to laugh at.
Debra Monk steals the show in one tear-inducing monologue on her role as saviour, hinting at a past of pain that remains unaddressed. Also features an unrecognizable Jennifer Jason Leigh, the guy from Office Space who invents the "Jump to Conclusions" mat, and The Sunshine Singers, a Christian pop group and boy/girl-band a la N*Sync.
I'd say this is akin to Gummo, but we can't laugh at the characters. Linearity-wise, I felt it had some relationship to I *HEART* Huckabees in its narrative. Anyway, what a refreshingly different film.
This review of Palindromes (2005) was written by Gianni V on 07 Jan 2008.
Palindromes has generally received positive reviews.
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