Palindromes (2004)

Plot

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.

Review

'Palindromes is Todd Solondz’s most difficult movie yet. It’s a Little Red Riding Hood story that’s as formally rigorous as a Godard film. ... his movie is a fascinating ethical Rubik’s cube, and it’s laced with comedy, but it’s a black comedy drenched in nihilism.' (cont.)

Review

'The weakest and most problematic of his films, Todd Solondz's Palindromes continues his thematic exploration of suburban anomie, again centering on the underdogs and socially oppressed. However, what was humanely touching in the coming-of-age tale, Welcome to the Doll House, Solondz's most commercial film, and impressive in scope and depth in Happiness, his best film artistically, has now become an intellectually gimmicky sensibility that fails to humanize his characters and connect with audiences on any level.' (cont.)

Clips

Trailer (1:48)

The Sunshine Singers scene (1:53)

The dinner scene (0:32)

Todd Solondz interviewed about Palindromes

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