Life During Wartime

I had this Netflix DVD sitting on my living room table for about 3 or 4 days before I got the courage up to watch it. That’s how Todd Solondz’s films affect me, on the whole. I finally watched it last night, and I was surprised at how “light” it was, compared to Storytelling and Palindromes and of course the magnificent Happiness. Yes, this seemed to be “Solondz lite,” even though the film picks up where Happiness, which I think everyone here would agree is a brutally and relentlessly discomforting film, left off. Having said that, I still enjoyed the film. It’s not without its uncomfortable moments; there are a few conversations between Timmy and his mother (the excellent Allison Janney) that are reminiscent of that final, painful conversation between Billy and his pedophile dad at the end of Happiness.

There’s a good reason, I think, that things have lightened up a bit. We are with the same characters from Happiness, but several years later (Billy is now in college, the dad is fresh out of prison, and Timmy is soon to have his bar mitzvah). So the theme of the film is “forgive and forget” or, perhaps more accurately, “forgive or forget.” We are, in a word, in the aftermath of hurt, despite the film’s title. Though maybe, given that the theme of the film is “forgive or forget,” its title is apt. The aftermath of hurt is perhaps when the worst battles are fought, and they’re fought deep down inside.

Timmy has grown up thinking his dad is dead. This is the official story of what happened to Bill Maplewood, a story concocted by his wife Trish in order to protect Timmy. But one day Timmy comes home from school and he’s confused and in tears: a boy told him his dad was not dead, that he was in jail because he is a sick pedophile who raped a boy. Trish tells her son the truth about his dad, but Timmy needs to know more, much more.

The gambit to have these characters portrayed by new actors (rather than the ones used in Happiness) pays off rather well. It’s actually nice to see other actors have a go at these characters, and speak their words. Although Ciarán Hinds as Bill Maplewood doesn’t quite work for me (though he’s very good and delivers one of the film’s great, sad lines–“thanks for the gumdrops”–with perfection) I thought the rest of the cast was just great. Michael Kenneth Williams as Allen (the obscene phone call addict played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an inspired choice. Gives you an idea of Williams’s range–to go from Omar Little to Allen the sex pest–and I really want to see more of him.

I love the look of a Solondz film, and this one is quite lovely. He’s obviously done some post-production color grading, and much of the film has an unusual tint. His dream sequence (Bill’s dream, of his youngest son Timmy standing in a lush garden, holding a tulip) is lovely, though I don’t think he’s quite matched the dream-like vision of the young boy in Palindromes in terms of sheer beauty.

I put this somewhere between “well, okay” and “likey.”

has anyone else seen it?

2 thoughts on “Life During Wartime

  1. Yeah, I saw it eons ago (maybe “OnDemand”) and liked it well enough. The scene in the dorm room was well done, and PeeWee Herman made some nice choices. I don’t remember it real well. On the whole, your “Solondz-lite” is a good descriptor.

  2. I’m not (entirely) ashamed to admit Happiness is one of my favorite movies, ever. But for any number of reasons (actually, two of them: young kids) I haven’t seen Wartime yet. Your brief review has made it a priority for me now. Thanks!

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