Palindromes (2004)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2005 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Innocence | Suburb | Neighbor | New Jersey | Kansas

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Matthew Faber	...	Mark Wiener
Angela Pietropinto	...	Mrs. Wiener
Bill Buell	...	Mr. Wiener
Emani Sledge	...	'Dawn' Aviva
Ellen Barkin	...	Joyce Victor
Valerie Shusterov	...	'Judah' Aviva
Richard Masur	...	Steve Victor
Hillary B. Smith	...	Robin Wallace
Danton Stone	...	Bruce Wallace
Robert Agri	...	First Judah
Hannah Freiman	...	'Henry' Aviva
Stephen Singer	...	Dr. Fleischer
Rachel Corr	...	'Henrietta' Aviva
Stephen Adly Guirgis	...	Joe / Earl / Bob
Will Denton	...	'Huckleberry' Aviva

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Hungary:16 | Italy:VM14 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:16 | Japan:R-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Company:

Extra Large Pictures

Trivia:

Heather Matarazzo turned down reprising the role of Dawn Wiener in this film.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The film takes place in New Jersey, yet in one of the hitch-hiking scenes we see a road sign for US Route 3, which in reality is located in New Hampshire. To make matters worse, in the background of the same scenes we see directional signs for "Ellenville" and "Route 199", which reveals the actual filming location of Kingston, NY.

Quotes:

Joyce Victor: [Talking about Aviva's unborn fetus] It's not a baby. It's just a tumor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Life During Wartime (2009)

Soundtrack:

Nobody Jesus But You

'Can you get pregnant when it goes in there?'

While not exactly a 'part 2' kind of sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse, Palindromes is more than a film just set in the same universe. Several characters from Dollhouse are featured and many references are made to events in said previous movie. It's best to be familiar with Dollhouse first before watching Palindromes.

Dawn Weiner, our lovely protagonist from Dollhouse, is dead. She committed suicide after getting pregnant from a date-rape. And even in death people cannot hold back on talking trash about her. Her 12-year-old cousin Aviva (she IS 12, a lot of people are mentioning various ages, she only turns 13 at the end) is so affecting by her tragic life that she vows to never turn out like her.

Her mum (Ellen Barkin who appears to have had some dodgy face-lift) promises that will never happen as she loves Aviva more than Dawn's family loved her. Which could not be further than the truth. As soon as she becomes pregnant to some horny boy Aviva's mum shows her true colors. She is selfish, ignorant and downright cruel. Her dad also. They may well be angry but that's no excuse for the pressure they put her under.

Aviva is forced into having an abortion. But it goes wrong and she ends up having an emergency hysterectomy. Thinking only of the effect it has upon herself, Aviva's mum keeps this part secret from her. Obviously devastated at the lost of her unborn child, Aviva takes off on a journey to find a new lover and make a new baby, unaware that she never will.

Upon this journey Aviva is played by many different actresses, all of whom portray her with the same facial expressions and mannerisms. She meets a variety of characters, including her cousin Mark (Dawn's older brother), a trucker who isn't a pedo but loves her anyway and family of disabled Jesus loving Christians who secretly fund abortionist assassinations.

It's bizarre and sometimes outrageous journey full of some typical Todd Solondz moments; scenes where the far-fetched becomes very believable because human-nature often stretches beyond normality when no one is looking. It was sad to see that Mark Weiner's life ruined in the way that it is. But he came through as a more mature and sympathetic character than the bully older brother he was before. And he did have some good scenes.

Now, about the whole pre-teen sexuality thing. I do not have a problem with this but I know a lot of people do. I don't find anything offensive about it but this is the third time Solondz has tackled the subject. Is he into it? Is he against it? Does he find it humorous? Or does he just use it as an easy way to rile us up and make us react? While it's integral to the story, it's not anything a fan of Solondz hasn't seen before.

Palindromes more than about a girl who's name is the spelled forwards as backwards. It's a film about how life goes around in circles and no one really ever changes or goes anywhere. It sounds like a pointless journey when I put it that way. But it's worth it.