‘12 year old Aviva wants to be a Mom’

Reading this statement in a blurb on the back of a random film case might seem relatively placid, at least a little more placid than reading it on the back of a Todd Solondz DVD.

Upon uncovering the name of the man responsible for the statement, and the scripting and direction of the film that accompany it, the mind whips up utterly different nightmarish connotations. The twisted genius behind ‘Happiness’ and ‘Storytelling’ is well known for his cutting edge controversy, manic scripts and disturbing cast, which gives the above statement a frightening allure.

Palindromes is Solondz’s fourth feature film and it tells the tale of Aviva, a girl who is desperate to have a child. After her mother forces her to have an abortion, Aviva runs away from home, hitchhikes across America and lands herself in a word of paedophilia, murder and Bible toting Christian dance music.

Solondz propels the audience through a baffling series of dramatic cinema, oozing with comedy blacker than midnight and, as if the story were not testing enough, the character of Aviva is played by seven actresses of drastically different build, race and age.

Aviva’s journey of self-discovery is a sick triumph, buffed with moral uncertainty, heartbreaking accuracy and a blind albino.

After experiencing infant mortality up close and personal, there were several scenes in Palindromes that were difficult to watch without wincing. This is not a criticism, it is an assertion of admiration in that as tainted and careless with satire as this film is, it deals with dangerously relevant issues head-on and in such a way that makes this a truly beautiful feature and a real pleasure to watch. 

 

 

 

Palindromes (2004) 

Written and Directed by Todd Solondz

 

 

 

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Copyright Daniel Emmerson 2008 all rights reserved