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Palindromes (2004)

Posted By: Someonelse

Date: 20 Mar 2016 10:01:27

Director: Todd Solondz
Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ellen Barkin, Stephen Adly Guirgis

A fable of innocence: thirteen-year-old Aviva Victor wants to be a 'mom'. She does all she can to make this happen, and comes very close to succeeding, but in the end her plan is thwarted by her sensible parents. So she runs away, still determined to get pregnant one way or another, but instead finds herself lost in another world, a less sensible one, perhaps, but one pregnant itself with all sorts of strange possibility. She takes a road trip from the suburbs of New Jersey, through Ohio to the plains of Kansas and back. Like so many trips, this one is round-trip, and it's hard to say in the end if she can ever be quite the same again, or if she can ever be anything but the same again.

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Ambitious, insightful, and haunting, this Todd Solondz pseudo-follow up to Welcome to the Dollhouse centers around a young girl as her youthful pregnancy alienates her from her family and her environment. While the film is broken up into chapters, complete with title cards, the central gimmick is not a narrative one, but rather casting: in each chapter, the main role of Aviva is played by a different person. We see her lose her virginity to a family friend almost by happenstance, and she embraces the experience more as a means for propagation than pleasure. She gets pregnant, and wants the baby, but, inevitably, her family vehemently opposes the idea, and propose an abortion. When the abortion traumatizes Aviva in more ways than one, she sets out on her own to either impregnate herself again or to simply find her place in a vast, scary world that seems less hostile than her own home.

Palindromes (2004)

Since his first film, Welcome to the Dollhouse (and even earlier with his NYU short Schatt’s Last Shot), writer/director Solondz has highlighted the discomfort and ideological trappings of day-to-day suburban life, and he takes things a step further with this entry. Here, as in Dollhouse, he assumes the point-of-view of a young, pre-adolescent girl to explore the likelihood of alienation due to a radically unconventional frame of mind which, in this case, involves the maternal instincts of a 13-year old girl. Aviva does not seem damaged or crazy, at least at the outset; she is an only child with a very loving mother who would like to be a loving mother herself, and take care of someone in need. It is only after her botched pregnancy that escaping her family becomes imperative for her, but it becomes clear that she is just as ill-equipped to handle the outside world as she is her home life. The supposedly cruel and harsh world that she encounters does not instantly kill her, nor does it force her into losing her innocence; even worse, it, for the most part, ignores her. The forces that welcome her, unabashedly, are so few and far between that the flaws of those who embrace Aviva are more than compensated by their warmth to her. A Christian couple that nearly accepts Aviva into their home comes off as fearful and angry, while a man that should appear to be a child predator turns out to be somewhat of a redemptive innocent. This sort of warped, morally ambiguous environment is Solondz’s bread and butter, and he treats it all with a sort of wide-eyed ambivalence that allows the film (as well as the rest of his work) to traverse the fine line between comedy and tragedy without ever truly succumbing to one or the other.

Palindromes (2004)

The notion to cast multiple actresses in the role of Aviva is both successful and awkward in nearly equal measures. On one hand, the superficial trappings of the young girl are completely removed from the story. While Aviva appears, at different points, to be a thin tomboy, an overweight black lady, an overweight pre-teen, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, if she were to remain any one of those for the duration of the picture, it would’ve implied certain things about her inner life that, thankfully, are not imperative to the picture. Her external story, or her journey, is the story, and she is merely the innocent eyes and ears that steers the narrative. This does create a somewhat disjointed feeling, however, particularly during the less eventful chapters, which end up seeming like extraneous elements in the film. This would be a bigger problem had the girls not all been successful at evoking various aspects of Aviva’s innocence and curiosity. This element of the film could’ve been really distracting and pretentious, but I believe it at least somewhat succeeds in keeping the story from becoming yet another tawdry, impersonal coming-of-age story. In supporting roles, Richard Riehle, Richard Masur, Debra Monk, Matthew Faber (reprising his Dollhouse role of “Weiner Dog”‘s older brother), Stephen Adly Guirgis, and especially Ellen Barkin (as Aviva’s nervous, tortured mother) all cut memorable impressions in their limited screentime, without taking the focus off of Aviva and her travels.

Palindromes (2004)

Highly Recommended to fans of Todd Solondz and his continual efforts to reveal the seedy, close-minded underbelly of everyday suburban life that David Lynch shied away from after Twin Peaks. Being a native of New Jersey, like Mr. Solondz, I am, once again, impressed by his repeated use of the state as a sort of playing field for the deranged, where being weird is a curse and being normal requires deep sacrifices to ones character that may or may not be completely warranted or necessary.
Righteous Film

Director Todd Solondz introduced the UK premiere of his latest film to a packed auditorium at the London Film Festival, and informed the audience they could either laugh or remain silent at certain points during the screening. Solondz's work usually contains dollops of humour amidst controversial subject matter and Palindromes is no exception, with the abortion issue inspiring strong for/against viewpoints.

Palindromes (2004)

A 12 year old girl (Aviva – not the only Palindrome of the evening) realises her ambition to become pregnant, only to be forced by her parents into having an abortion. Aviva then leaves home, determinded to become pregnant for a second time, and give birth with no parental interference.

Palindromes (2004)

Enter the devout christian family of Bo and Mama Sunshine; one of whom leads Aviva to the seedy trailer of a paedophile who's "paid his dues." Meanwhile, an evil-minded anti-abortionist is preparing to enter the fray. It's a dangerous, crazy world for a young girl to traverse, and her journey takes in love, death and the whole damn thing through the bodies and souls of six actresses (different ages, different colours of skin) and a young boy who merge to form the complete Aviva; amongst them, Jennifer Jason Leigh who is the recipient of a speech that sums up the entire point of the film, and also explains, in part, why Solondz chose to employ a troupe of performers for one role.

There's no doubt that Solondz will attract criticism from both sides of the abortion debate, and while his film may strive to be non-judgemental, the overall message is resolutely pro-life.

Palindromes (2004)

From a pro-choice mom (the excellent Ellen Barkin) who offers no choice at all, to murderous anti-abortion doctors, Palindromes skates over very thin ice and is never afraid to use humour as a means to make us think even more carefully about the issues involved. The subject of paedophilia is also brought to the fore, with Solondz pitching this character, in part, as a tender, caring man who will eventually figure in a disturbing scene involving homicide and murder: quite simply, this one will haunt you for weeks! There will also doubtless be bullets to dodge for a scene where Mama's family of autistic and disabled children perform a Christian dance number. Well, Jodorowsky directed a similar scene for his remarkable Santa Sangre, and his reasons are shared by Solondz and should be applauded.

Palindromes (2004)

With an excellent cast and wonderfully perceptive script, Palindromes is sharp, funny and often immeasurably moving. One of the most thought provoking films of 2004 and, quite possibly, the finest.
The Spinning Image