DARK HORSE
If John Waters and Woody Allen had a baby who was forced to attend school with the cast of Jersey Shore then decided to make motion pictures, that child would probably be a lot like Todd Solondz. A master of dark comedy, to the point of offending many, Solondz manages to create some of the most uncomfortable and disconcerting moments in recent memory. Known for films such as WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, HAPPINESS, PALIDROMES, and LIFE DURING WARTIME, Solondz is a last bastion of the American Independent movement (but at the same time never a member). Solondz, is an outsider, always an outsider, and that who he explores in his films characters that are awkward, delusional, dangerous, offensive, abject, but ultimately tragically human.
“Surprisingly subtle… Solondz's sweetest film is still terrifically bitter.”
-Terry Mulcahy, FILM4
“There are times when it is dark humor, and then times when it is simply dark. But there is something more going on here, something deeper and more ... hopeful?”
-Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
“In his bitter humour I always find a twitch on the moral compass.”
-Jason Solomons, OBSERVER
Whether you laugh, squirm, or tear up during his films your experience will be truly unique to other filmmakers. In DARK HORSE, Solondz explores a thirty-something guy with arrested development who falls for a thirty-something girl with arrested development. Solondz explores stagnation, the fear of moving on, and the false comfort of nostalgia offers. When moving out of his junior high school bedroom proves too much for Solondz’s anti-hero, tragedy ensures. Lining up an all-star cast impressive cast including Justin Bartha, Selma Blair and icons like Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken, Solondz continues is exploration into the depths of neuroses, delusion, and the tragic with DARK HORSE.
Directed by Todd Solondz. Unrated.
USA, 2012, Digital Projection, 84minutes, Color, English.