Palindromes
2004 Directed by Todd Solondz
Synopsis
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
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Extremely fascinating film seen through the eyes of one girl named Aviva, who is played by multiple actresses. Solondz does not disappoint to tell this tragic tale of a young girl who wants to have a baby.
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A nightmarish portrayal of human nature with one of the bleakest premises in cinema history. You will laugh, weep and be truly haunted throughout. This is certainly not for the faint of heart.
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A Todd Solondz adventure!
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Todd Solondz to the fullest!
But really bad casting in comparison to his earlier work!Turns it from good classic Solondz-awkwardness to really bad what- the-fuck-am-I-watching-awkwardness.
To bad, I really love the Todd!
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Extremely fascinating film seen through the eyes of one girl named Aviva, who is played by multiple actresses. Solondz does not disappoint to tell this tragic tale of a young girl who wants to have a baby.
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This film was just, rather, odd.
I was going into this film expecting this to be somewhat like Solondz's "Welcome To The Dollhouse", but this film turned out to be something different all together. Although it still follows some of the points made in the film before it, felt somewhat disjointed from WTTDH, but it could still hold it's own anyway.
The way Solondz used different actors/actresses to portray the same characters was very interesting, although I was confused and one point but put it together slightly after, the way he does this is clever but is quite messy and could use some more organisation or clarity to give it more of a lasting "punch".
All that said this film is still quite good, the ideas were interesting and pulled me in, even though it does not stack up to the other works in Solondz's catalogue.
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Far from perfect - for no real good reason, Solondz is still being sympathetic to pedophiles as if it were his mission in life; Here, it does little to serve the film - but its evocation of pro-life and pro-choice worldviews both being inherently hypocritical is well felt. Though I'm going to be examining just why he chose to point out how static identity can be in someone who is still forming by using seven different actresses/actors, I was not averse to it. Far from it. Film ticks into a lulling stasis of grim realizations (Aviva is 13, Aviva gets pregnant, mom makes Aviva get abortion, Aviva shacks up sweaty truck driver) until Aviva wakes up played by Sharon Wilkins…
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One of the better Solondz movies. Very dark, very confrontational and very controversial. The world that Solondz creates for all of his films is so real that there is no way it can be real. The middle segment with the Sunshine Singers is a standout as this section is both hilarious and terrifying. I would recommend this to anyone who likes any of Solondz's work.
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It was an odd experience, but I got the message.
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A nightmarish portrayal of human nature with one of the bleakest premises in cinema history. You will laugh, weep and be truly haunted throughout. This is certainly not for the faint of heart.
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Full of fascinating ideas, but so repulsive as to pretty much dissuade me from untangling them. Humorous moments go a long way towards making it bearable (maybe that's why I loved Dark Horse), but long stretches of the film I found unwatchable.
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A Todd Solondz adventure!