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Palindromes (film)

January 01, 1970

Palindromes is a 2004 American comedy drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz. Referencing Solondz's previous Welcome to the Dollhouse,[2] it was nominated for the Golden Lion award at the 61st Venice International Film Festival.

Palindromes
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTodd Solondz
Written byTodd Solondz
Produced byMike S. Ryan
Derrick Tseng
StarringMatthew Faber
Ellen Barkin
Emani Sledge
Valerie Shusterov
Hannah Freiman
Rachel Corr
Will Denton
Sharon Wilkins
Shayna Levine
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Narrated byMaggie Moore
CinematographyTom Richmond
Edited byMollie Goldstein
Kevin Messman
Music byNathan Larson
Production
companies
Celluloid Dreams
Extra Large Pictures[1]
Distributed byWellspring[1]
Release date
  • September 3, 2004 (2004-09-03)
Running time
100 minutes
CountriesUnited States
France[1]
LanguagesEnglish
Hebrew
Box office$707,269

The protagonist, a 13-year-old girl named Aviva, is played by eight different actors of different ages, races, and genders during the course of the film, which features an array of secondary characters. The names of the characters Aviva, Bob, and Otto are all palindromes.

Plot edit

The film opens with a funeral for Dawn Wiener (the protagonist from Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse), who went to college, gained a lot of weight and acne, and committed suicide at age 20 after she became pregnant from a date rape. Her older brother Mark (Matthew Faber, reprising his role) reads the eulogy while Dawn's tearful parents (Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell, also reprising their roles) sit in the audience and seem to finally show remorse over the way they mistreated her as a child. Dawn's younger sister whom she was estranged from, Missy, does not attend the funeral. One of the attendees is Aviva, Dawn's cousin.

A few years later, Aviva desires to have a child. She has sex with Judah (Robert Agri), a family friend, and becomes pregnant. Aviva's parents are horrified and demand that she get an abortion. While the abortion is technically successful, it is implied via a fractured, emotional conversation with the doctor (Stephen Singer) that Aviva can no longer have children. Not fully conscious, Aviva is unaware of this, and her parents, already fragile, lead her to believe all is well when she awakens, afraid to upset Aviva.

Aviva runs away from home. She befriends a trucker (Stephen Adly Guirgis) and has sex with him; however, the trucker abandons her at a motel. She is eventually found by the Sunshine Family, a Christian fundamentalist foster home that cares for disordered orphans and runaways. She tells them her name is Henrietta — the name she picked for the baby she was persuaded to abort. While at the Sunshine Family home, she discovers a dark side to the foster father; he assassinates abortion providers. His next target is the doctor who performed Aviva's abortion. The hitman whom the foster father uses is the same trucker Aviva previously befriended and had sex with.

Convinced she is in love with the truck driver, Aviva flees the Sunshine Family to join him on his assignment. The murder does not go as planned as, in addition to the doctor himself, the trucker (whose name is revealed to be Bob) ends up accidentally shooting the doctor's young daughter when she steps in front of the first shot. The police find Bob and Aviva both in a motel room, and a guilt-ridden Bob commits suicide by cop.

The film then skips ahead several months later to Aviva back home with her parents, planning her next birthday party. During the party, she talks to her cousin, Mark, who has recently been arrested and accused of molesting his sister Missy's baby (although he denies having done it and it is loosely implied that Missy might have made it up for attention). Mark tells Aviva that there is no such thing as free will; people are what they were genetically “programmed” to be, and can never truly change. The film skips ahead to Aviva's meeting Judah, who now calls himself Otto, and they have sex again. Afterward, Aviva happily exclaims that she has a feeling that, this time, she is going to be a mother.

Casting edit

Palindromes is most notable for having eight different actors of different ages, races, and genders play a 13-year-old girl named Aviva. Although Solondz's film premiered in official competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2004, it received little other laudatory notice and remains his most polarizing with critics.[3][4] With regard to Solondz's employment of multiple performers to play a single character, film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his positive review, "If the movie is a moral labyrinth, it is paradoxically straightforward and powerful in the moment; each individual story has an authenticity and impact of its own. Consider the pathos brought to Aviva by the actress Sharon Wilkins, who is a plus-size adult black woman playing a little girl, and who creates perhaps the most convincing little girl of them all. Or Jennifer Jason Leigh, three times as old as Aviva but barely seeming her age. These individual segments are so effective that at the end of each one we know how we feel, and why. It's just that the next segment invalidates our conclusions."[5] Contrarily, New York Times film critic A. O. Scott concluded in his negative review, "[...] Aviva's appearance changes -- from black to white, from fat to thin, from brunette to redhead, and at one point, to Jennifer Jason Leigh. The effect of this switching is to keep you off balance and at a remove from the story. That is not such a bad thing, because you will want to be as far away as possible."[6]

Cast edit

Actors playing Aviva edit

Reception edit

Palindromes holds a 43% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 120 reviews with an average rating of 5.31/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Unique but cold".[7] The film grossed $553,368 in the domestic box office and $707,269 worldwide after almost 23 weeks in theatrical release.[8] The DVD was released on September 13, 2005.

Soundtrack edit

  1. "Lullaby (Aviva's and Henrietta's Theme)" — written by Nathan Larson; performed by Nina Persson and Nathan Larson
  2. "Up on a Cloud" — written by Larson; performed by Persson and Larson
  3. "Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23" — written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  4. "Nobody Jesus But You" — written by Eytan Mirsky, Curtis Moore, and Matthew Brookshire; performed by Ricky Ashley, Curtis Moore, Karen Rodriguez, and The Sunshine Singers
  5. "Fight for the Children" — written by Mirsky, Moore, and Brookshire; performed by Ashley, Moore, Rodriguez, and The Sunshine Singers
  6. "Doctor Dan" — written by Mirsky, Moore, and Brookshire; performed by Ashley, Moore, Rodriguez, and The Sunshine Singers
  7. "Love Turned Blue" — written by Jai Josefs; performed by Shelly Rand and The Nashville Six
  8. "Somebody Loved" — witten by Deb Talan and Steve Tannen; performed by The Weepies
  9. "This Is the Way" — written by Mirsky, Moore, and Brookshire; performed by Ashley, Moore, Rodriguez, and The Sunshine Singers

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Palindromes (2004)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  2. ^ Scott, A. O. (October 15, 2004). "Motherhood in Its Grim Permutations". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Palindromes - Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes.
  4. ^ "Palindromes - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 28, 2005). "Palindromes". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group.
  6. ^ Scott, A.O. (October 15, 2004). "Motherhood in its Grim Permutations". New York Times.
  7. ^ Palindromes at Rotten Tomatoes
  8. ^ Palindromes at Box Office Mojo

External links edit

January 01, 1970
palindromes, film, palindromes, 2004, american, comedy, drama, film, written, directed, todd, solondz, referencing, solondz, previous, welcome, dollhouse, nominated, golden, lion, award, 61st, venice, international, film, festival, palindromestheatrical, relea. Palindromes is a 2004 American comedy drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz Referencing Solondz s previous Welcome to the Dollhouse 2 it was nominated for the Golden Lion award at the 61st Venice International Film Festival PalindromesTheatrical release posterDirected byTodd SolondzWritten byTodd SolondzProduced byMike S RyanDerrick TsengStarringMatthew FaberEllen BarkinEmani SledgeValerie ShusterovHannah FreimanRachel CorrWill DentonSharon WilkinsShayna LevineJennifer Jason LeighNarrated byMaggie MooreCinematographyTom RichmondEdited byMollie GoldsteinKevin MessmanMusic byNathan LarsonProductioncompaniesCelluloid DreamsExtra Large Pictures 1 Distributed byWellspring 1 Release dateSeptember 3 2004 2004 09 03 Running time100 minutesCountriesUnited StatesFrance 1 LanguagesEnglishHebrewBox office 707 269 The protagonist a 13 year old girl named Aviva is played by eight different actors of different ages races and genders during the course of the film which features an array of secondary characters The names of the characters Aviva Bob and Otto are all palindromes Contents 1 Plot 2 Casting 3 Cast 3 1 Actors playing Aviva 4 Reception 5 Soundtrack 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksPlot editThe film opens with a funeral for Dawn Wiener the protagonist from Solondz s Welcome to the Dollhouse who went to college gained a lot of weight and acne and committed suicide at age 20 after she became pregnant from a date rape Her older brother Mark Matthew Faber reprising his role reads the eulogy while Dawn s tearful parents Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell also reprising their roles sit in the audience and seem to finally show remorse over the way they mistreated her as a child Dawn s younger sister whom she was estranged from Missy does not attend the funeral One of the attendees is Aviva Dawn s cousin A few years later Aviva desires to have a child She has sex with Judah Robert Agri a family friend and becomes pregnant Aviva s parents are horrified and demand that she get an abortion While the abortion is technically successful it is implied via a fractured emotional conversation with the doctor Stephen Singer that Aviva can no longer have children Not fully conscious Aviva is unaware of this and her parents already fragile lead her to believe all is well when she awakens afraid to upset Aviva Aviva runs away from home She befriends a trucker Stephen Adly Guirgis and has sex with him however the trucker abandons her at a motel She is eventually found by the Sunshine Family a Christian fundamentalist foster home that cares for disordered orphans and runaways She tells them her name is Henrietta the name she picked for the baby she was persuaded to abort While at the Sunshine Family home she discovers a dark side to the foster father he assassinates abortion providers His next target is the doctor who performed Aviva s abortion The hitman whom the foster father uses is the same trucker Aviva previously befriended and had sex with Convinced she is in love with the truck driver Aviva flees the Sunshine Family to join him on his assignment The murder does not go as planned as in addition to the doctor himself the trucker whose name is revealed to be Bob ends up accidentally shooting the doctor s young daughter when she steps in front of the first shot The police find Bob and Aviva both in a motel room and a guilt ridden Bob commits suicide by cop The film then skips ahead several months later to Aviva back home with her parents planning her next birthday party During the party she talks to her cousin Mark who has recently been arrested and accused of molesting his sister Missy s baby although he denies having done it and it is loosely implied that Missy might have made it up for attention Mark tells Aviva that there is no such thing as free will people are what they were genetically programmed to be and can never truly change The film skips ahead to Aviva s meeting Judah who now calls himself Otto and they have sex again Afterward Aviva happily exclaims that she has a feeling that this time she is going to be a mother Casting editPalindromes is most notable for having eight different actors of different ages races and genders play a 13 year old girl named Aviva Although Solondz s film premiered in official competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2004 it received little other laudatory notice and remains his most polarizing with critics 3 4 With regard to Solondz s employment of multiple performers to play a single character film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his positive review If the movie is a moral labyrinth it is paradoxically straightforward and powerful in the moment each individual story has an authenticity and impact of its own Consider the pathos brought to Aviva by the actress Sharon Wilkins who is a plus size adult black woman playing a little girl and who creates perhaps the most convincing little girl of them all Or Jennifer Jason Leigh three times as old as Aviva but barely seeming her age These individual segments are so effective that at the end of each one we know how we feel and why It s just that the next segment invalidates our conclusions 5 Contrarily New York Times film critic A O Scott concluded in his negative review Aviva s appearance changes from black to white from fat to thin from brunette to redhead and at one point to Jennifer Jason Leigh The effect of this switching is to keep you off balance and at a remove from the story That is not such a bad thing because you will want to be as far away as possible 6 Cast editMatthew Faber as Mark Wiener Angela Pietropinto as Mrs Wiener Bill Buell as Harvey Wiener Ellen Barkin as Joyce Victor Richard Masur as Steve Victor Hillary Bailey Smith as Robin Wallace Danton Stone as Bruce Wallace Robert Agri as First Judah John Gemberling as Second Judah Stephen Singer as Dr Fleisher Stephen Adly Guirgis as Joe Earl Bob Debra Monk as Mama Sunshine Walter Bobbie as Bo Sunshine Tyler Maynard as Jiminy David Castro as Carlito Richard Riehle as Dr Dan Maggie Moore as Voice of Christian narrator Sydney Matuszak Ell Actors playing Aviva edit Emani Sledge segment Dawn Valerie Shusterov segment Judah Hannah Freiman segment Henry Rachel Corr segment Henrietta Will Denton segment Huckleberry Sharon Wilkins segment Mama Sunshine Shayna Levine segment Bob Jennifer Jason Leigh segment Mark Reception editPalindromes holds a 43 rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 120 reviews with an average rating of 5 31 10 The site s critical consensus states Unique but cold 7 The film grossed 553 368 in the domestic box office and 707 269 worldwide after almost 23 weeks in theatrical release 8 The DVD was released on September 13 2005 Soundtrack edit Lullaby Aviva s and Henrietta s Theme written by Nathan Larson performed by Nina Persson and Nathan Larson Up on a Cloud written by Larson performed by Persson and Larson Piano Concerto No 1 in B flat minor Op 23 written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Nobody Jesus But You written by Eytan Mirsky Curtis Moore and Matthew Brookshire performed by Ricky Ashley Curtis Moore Karen Rodriguez and The Sunshine Singers Fight for the Children written by Mirsky Moore and Brookshire performed by Ashley Moore Rodriguez and The Sunshine Singers Doctor Dan written by Mirsky Moore and Brookshire performed by Ashley Moore Rodriguez and The Sunshine Singers Love Turned Blue written by Jai Josefs performed by Shelly Rand and The Nashville Six Somebody Loved witten by Deb Talan and Steve Tannen performed by The Weepies This Is the Way written by Mirsky Moore and Brookshire performed by Ashley Moore Rodriguez and The Sunshine SingersSee also editList of film characters played cooperatively by multiple actors at the same timeReferences edit a b c Palindromes 2004 AFI Catalog of Feature Films Retrieved 1 April 2024 Scott A O October 15 2004 Motherhood in Its Grim Permutations The New York Times Palindromes Movie Reviews Rotten Tomatoes Palindromes IMDb IMDb Ebert Roger April 28 2005 Palindromes Chicago Sun Times Chicago Illinois Sun Times Media Group Scott A O October 15 2004 Motherhood in its Grim Permutations New York Times Palindromes at Rotten Tomatoes Palindromes at Box Office MojoExternal links editPalindromes at IMDb nbsp Palindromes at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Palindromes film amp oldid 1216709777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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