Happiness (1998)
Written and Directed by Todd Solondz
Happiness is an awkward transient of several juxtaposed pastiche social commentaries. Using suburban America as the canvas to paint his grizzly tales, Solondz condemns his characters to commit related acts of gross social taboo. The ‘I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or burn this DVD’ feeling has become all too familiar after sitting through (and thoroughly enjoying) Storytelling and Palindromes, two of Solondz’s more recent projects. But the placated and dramatic postcard portrayals of these fictional characters are what make Happiness such a thrill to watch; the outrageously dark relationship between a child molester and his son, the vile visual cocktails of loneliness and masturbation, the obese rape victim who kills and dissects her Hispanic doorman, the Russian wife-beating thief… all of these terrifyingly realistic sketches of suburban isolation and misery make for desperately compelling viewing. As challenged as I felt while watching Happiness, it is easy to see that this film is packed with the drama, hysteria and gloom that most modern cinema is too afraid to even gesture towards.
Copyright Daniel Emmerson 2008 all rights reserved
