From the opening scene of "Happiness", Todd Solondz's new pitch-perfect black comedy, it is clear that none of the characters is going to achieve the title emotion.
The film follows the lives of three sisters, each of whom is at a different point in her life. One is the happy homemaker, another is a successful writer, and the third is a struggling musician. Mr. Solondz examines the three sisters and their extended family in a way that is reminiscent of Woody Allen at his darkest. Ben Gazzara, as the father having a late midlife crisis, sums it up best when, during a meaningless affair, he proclaims "I don't feel anything".
Mr. Solondz has assembled a strong cast and given each of his characters a lot to work with. Most surprising of all in this ensemble cast is Lara Flynn Boyle, who gives the best performance of her career as the most vacuous of vacuous writers. It takes a moment to get past how annoying her character is, before it becomes evident that that is exactly the point.
The film will no doubt receive much controversy for its detailed depiction of pedophilia and its two scenes of ejaculation. But this is perfectly in keeping with the tone of the film. Mr. Solondz has really turned the camera on our own lives by showing us that each of these characters has issues that they don't share with anyone. If it is disturbing to see this (particularly a climactic scene between father and son which may very well be the most uncomfortable scene ever filmed) then Mr. Solondz has done his job well.
He has crafted a film that is so honest and true-to-life that it seems almost to be a documentary at times. In any other film, the surprising number of times that the microphone can be seen would have detracted from the movie itself, but in "Happiness" it can be forgiven.
If Mr. Solondz falters at all, it is in the occasional moments when he seems to be consciously trying to push the envelope, as in a rather over-the-top run in between an overweight woman and her doorman which leads to a Tarantino-esque diner scene.
With his new film, Mr. Solondz emerges as one of the strongest new voices in film today. It was no fluke that Mr. Solondz's last film, "Welcome to the Dollhouse", was such a brutally honest examination of adolescence. The writer-director has a unique and surprisingly gifted mind for dialogue and character. With these two films to his credit, Mr. Solondz warrants comparison to the early days of Woody Allen and John Cassavetes. He is someone to be watched.
