Few filmmakers feel their characters as much as Todd Solondz, who creates eccentric, relatable film characters who nonetheless suffer the gamut of what life has to offer — loneliness, betrayal… rape, suicide… pedophilia. Yes, things often get more upsetting and increasingly taboo for the characters in Todd Solondz’s films, especially the iconic Dawn Wiener, first introduced in the great indie film Welcome to the Dollhouse. By the time we catch up with the Wieners in Solondz’s often-overlooked 2004 masterpiece Palindromes, Dawn Wiener has killed herself, and we are attending her funeral alongside the film’s 13-year-old lead character Aviva, who is portrayed by eight different people throughout the movie as she runs away from home and tries to become a mother.
The great director delves into the differences between ‘Palindromes’ and our world 20 years ago and now. Read More