Review of Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996) by Elise C — 30 Jul 2015

One of the most painful, depressing films of all time. In his review of "Taxi Driver," Roger Ebert said of Travis Bickle (I'm paraphrasing here) "We almost want to look away from his life.

" In this film, we DEFINITELY want to look away from the life of Dawn Wiener. Liked by no one, shunned by everyone, tortured and teased and treated cruelly at ever turn, this little girl's life is just plain SAD.

They call this a black comedy. I didn't laugh. I felt miserable for her every moment. And what awards this film 5 stars from me despite the fact that I found it such a bitter pill to swallow is the fact that it could very well be a true story.

There is truth in every frame of this film. There are countless girls (and boys) just like Dawn. We may even know one or two. We may not be the ones who treat them like sh!t and make their every waking moments a living hell, but we know about them.

We know what they're going through. But we're not sure if we should try to be their friend. We're not sure who the person behind the pain is. This film is brilliant, but I don't think I'll ever watch it again because it depressed and saddened me in a way that so many things in the real world do.

I go to the movies to escape those things. But still, a great portrait of a misfit who walks among us, even if she has nowhere to go.