12 years ago writer/director Todd Solondz made a funny but slightly disturbing film called 'Happiness'. This is kind of a sequel to that film with new characters but dealing with similar topics. It does not involve war in case you were wondering.
The film revolves around a family in Florida and their various emotional issues. Todd has done a bit of a clever thing here. In most of the conversations people have they talk about their problems but don't fully explain them, as if we as an audience are supposed to know what they are talking about. It is a clever technique, because while you know they are talking about uncomfortable things it is nice we are not getting the full details. I also liked the way the characters all connect up. At first they just seem to be a little random but then we see they are mostly related to each other. Some may be disappointed to know this film is not as shocking as 'Happiness'. As I said the issues are implied but not spoken of implicitly. It is quite funny though as there are lots of laugh-out-loud moments.
Shirley Henderson is an excellent actress. Her performance here is one of her best. She has to be really emotional all through the film and is able to convey that really well. Shirley has some excellent scenes with Paul Reubens who is quite funny. Mostly because of her time on 'The West Wing' I am in love with Allison Janney. Once again she is brilliant in this film. Ciaran Hands is a great actor too who gives a very measure performance. We are supposed to hate him for the bad things he has done but we learn to empathise with him as human. Charlotte Rampling and Alley Sheedy have some great small roles. Dylan Riley Snyder plays the central character in the film and is a very good young actor. His dialogue sometimes feels a little adult, in that he says things an adult would say not a 13 year-old boy, but that's OK.
A very funny comedy about some of the more odd people in the world. Fans of Todd Solondz maybe disappointed by his less shocking approach but it does not diminish the impact of his message.
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