LIFE DURING WARTIME
(directed by Todd Solandz, 2010)
**** (out of 5)
.
> This Todd Solondz gem really kicks ass on so many levels.
. LIFE DURING WARTIME is a family/relationship drama with a wicked sense of humor. It begins with a dynamite scene that is both so funny and so tragic, and never really lets up. Betty Boop voiced Shirley Henderson (HARRY POTTER) and Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire) are a couple of lovers sitting at a restaurant table, crying their eyes out over their anniversary. But despite their protestations to the contrary, these do not appear to be happy tears. We discover why, when the waitress arrives and recognizes Williams as a sick puppy the instant she hears his familiar voice- the voice of a telephone pervert.
. Henderson, a trained thespian whose talent outsizes her diminutive body, is ‘Joy’- an ironic character name if I’ve ever heard one. In addition to her man-troubles, Joy detests her job and has to put up with her dead boyfriend’s horny ghost haunting her at inopportune times. (A jarringly unusual role for Paul Rubens AKA “Pee Wee Herman”!) Her very different sisters are played by Allison Janney as ‘Trish’ and Ally Sheedy as ‘Helen’, and both crush the comedy beneath the pain. To complicate matters, Trish has a very sick husband, who has been serving time for pedophilia (Ciarán Hinds in an excellent turn), he has been released after chemical castration, and seeks out his now grown son, seeking a rapprochement he can never have.
. Solondz makes quirky, character-driven dramadies that consistently push the limits and confound expectations. He often focuses on dark realities and finds unlikely humor where no other filmmaker would find it. In the process, he often makes us feel guilty for laughing, forcing us to think as well as react.
– That, I’ll bet Solondz would argue- is the entire point!
*
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