Happiness
Time Out says
Centred loosely on a New Jersey family of three grown-up sisters, their parents, partners and children, Solondz's brave and adventurous second feature takes misery, loneliness and cruelty as a given in contemporary life; everyone here is (justifiably or otherwise) unhappy with their lot - or should be, if they could only stop deluding themselves. Right from the painfully funny opening, it's a bible-black comedy of considerable assurance, but gradually the humour subsides to be replaced by a core of despairing human sympathy, most noticeably for the paedophile father whose heart-to-hearts with his teenage son come to form the emotional backbone of the movie. Very often, you're unsure whether you want to accompany Solondz on his journey into a modern purgatory, but you should take the trip; it's worth it, and something you'll never forget.Author: GA
Release details
UK release:
1998
Duration:
139 mins
Cast and crew
Director:
Cast:
Louise Lasser, Ben Gazzara, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dylan Baker, Jane Adams, Jared Harris
Comments & ratings