Life During Wartime: movie review
A sequel of sorts to Todd Solondz鈥檚 controversial 1998 film 鈥楬appiness,鈥� 鈥楲ife During Wartime鈥� returns to the characters鈥� lives a decade later, but with a whole new cast.
Ciaran Hinds is shown in a scene from the movie 'Life During Wartime.'
Francisco Roman/IFC Films/AP
In 1998 writer-director Todd Solondz made 鈥�Happiness,鈥� a cult favorite about family dysfunctionality that featured, at its most startling, a pedophile played by Dylan Baker. 鈥�Life During Wartime鈥� is a sequel of sorts 鈥� a recounting, more than a decade later, of the characters鈥� lives from that first film. This time, however, all new actors fill the roles.
Not having been a big admirer of 鈥淗appiness,鈥� I don鈥檛 see the vast achievement in bringing that movie up to date, but a few of the performances and sequences resonate. The pedophile, now out of prison, is played by Ciar谩n Hinds, who is quite good. His former wife is played by Allison Janney, who manages to make even Solondz鈥檚 most off-kilter musings seem level-headed.
But a little of Solondz鈥檚 deadpan creepiness goes a long way with me. 鈥淟ife During Wartime鈥� is about how people are not what they seem to be, but most of its characters aren鈥檛 rich enough to exhibit single, let alone double, lives. Grade: B- (Unrated.)
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