Director: Todd Solondz
Year Released: 2004
Rating: 1.0
I think one of the reasons why I detest the cinema of Todd Solondz is that even though he may be genuinely attempting social criticism, the characters he creates are so extreme and loathsome - lots of pedophiles to go with his religious zealots and bad parents - that there are no shades to humanity, only black and white. Aside from the Buñuelseque girl swapping - age and race being irrelevant when it comes to abuse - there's just an ugly worldview that is hard to take, a need for sensationalism at the risk of the entire picture. No, Todd, it is possible to change over time as people; no, Todd, we are not "robots" programmed by nature to be freaks. But if thinking that makes you feel better about yourself - or if you think casting a rather obese African-American woman to play a teenage girl is somehow landmark - then fine. I was always under the impression that high school-grade nihilism should give way to clarity as one moves on in life, but when you have a handful of critics championing your work, why change tactics?
