Palindromes, the latest film from director Todd Solondz, continues the offbeat career of a filmmaker who seems almost terrified of success.
After making one film that has been erased from his resume, Solondz made a proper debut with cult hit Welcome to the Dollhouse. He then took a big step forward with the complex ensemble dramedy Happiness. Just when he was on the brink of breaking out Solondz went in the other direction.
Instead of becoming more accessible, or stimulating, his films have become more specialized. There's nothing wrong with that but unfortunately the work isn't particularly distinguished. His next film, Storytelling, had amusing moments and some strong performances but didn't add up to much. Palindromes is an even thinner work, primarily interesting because of a casting gimmick.
The film's lead character, a young girl named Aviva, is played by eight different performers: four girls aged 13-14, a 12 year old boy (who speaks no dialogue in his brief scenes), a 6-year old girl and two grown women: one of which is Jennifer Jason Leigh, the other is an obese black character actress named Sharon Wilkins. The film is broken into nine chapters with each of the actors tackling one segment and all but Leigh returning for the final sequence.
Overall the film feels more episodic than cohesive and although, as the title suggests, the structure is circular the film lacks narrative thrust. It is, by far, Solondz's dullest work yet.
Palindromes will appeal primarily to Solondz cultists, and probably less than usual. Which means a very small audience indeed. No doubt some will give the film credit for its casting experiment and casual fascination with topics like abortion and pedophilia. There's also enough of a sentimental edge to appeal to those who like their "edgy" indies with a little bit of heart-tugging. And for those who prefer to see the film as philosophical, there's a "moral lesson" that is not very subtly articulated in a big speech near the end.
Solondz's directorial statement (yes, this is the kind of film that demands a directorial statement, so the filmmaker can get in a preemptive strike on negative viewer reaction) calls Aviva a "wholly sympathetic" character. I suppose that mission is accomplished but Solondz forgot to also make Aviva a relatable human being. It's easy enough to sympathize but near impossible to empathize. The rotating actors help to keep the film interesting despite a marginal storyline but the gimmick also prevents the development of Aviva as a fully formed character. However, it's worth noting that at least she's not a thoroughly tortured or victimized character.
The rest of the characters are marginal at best, adding to the film's overall shallow feeling.
Solondz is frequently charged with condescending to his characters. Palindromes has its share of cheap jokes (it's impossible to defend the disabled kids performing in a basement Christian pop band, part of the overlong segment which finds Aviva, in the uncomfortable physical form of Wilkins, taking up residence with a born again Christian family) but overall Solondz seems more interested in simply presenting these characters than he is in ridiculing them. He's more cynical about the world than he is about individual characters. (As much as I'd like to see Solondz work on a bigger canvas I'd hate to see him turn out something as crassly dumb as Napoleon Dynamite, though I doubt he really could.)
Palindromes is the type of film that will "divide" audiences but will enough people turn out to make for a worthwhile argument? I doubt it.
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