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Happiness
by Simon Abrahams
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directed by
Todd Solondz
stars
Jane Adams, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cynthia Stevenson, Jared Harris, Ben Gazzara, Louise Lasser
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Judging by its title, you would be forgiven for thinking that a good dose of mirth and merriment might feature in Todd Solondz's latest film, Happiness; what you are actually presented with is, in fact, the binary opposite. Given what has gone before, films like Fear, Anxiety and Depression and Welcome to the Dollhouse, it was perhaps inevitable that Solondz's sardonically-titled film, Happiness, would delve once again into the darker recesses of the human mind. Unsurprisingly, too, Happiness is as controversial as it is sardonic: no other film this year will polarise opinion in quite the same manner — either you will love the film for its sheer audacity or else resent it for the profligate issues it tackles. If American Beauty scratched the surface of suburban life in the States, then Happiness is a brazenly uncompromising exposé of the selfsame suburbia, explicitly broaching as it does the most taboo of subjects, but, to Solondz's credit, doing so in a non-judgmental manner which allows the movie to be what it is, a black comedy, and not some moralizing two-hour social indictment.
Happiness depicts the seemingly ‘normal’ lives of three sisters, their relatives and other interrelated characters from the American state of New Jersey. As a direct result of this, there are almost twelve central characters, rather than one main protagonist, and, consequently, the action is conveyed to us somewhat in episodes. On the surface of it, all the characters appear to be fairly normal and most representative of average, white middle-class America: a young thirty-something call-center worker still living at home with her parents; an increasingly successful author with her own flat in an apartment block; a housewife with a nice family home in the ’burbs; a late-twenties office worker complete with sensible tweed jacket. Lurking just beneath this apparently normal exterior, however, is the most reprehensible kind of immoral behavior: child abuse, rape, incest, mutilation. Yet, distasteful though these issues are, Happiness can still leave you as much in tears of laughter as it does aghast or angst-ridden, and it is precisely this fluctuation in audience reaction which makes it such an absorbing film to watch.
Much of the movie bases itself around Joy, Helen and Trish, three New Jersey sisters and three products of a dysfunctional American family. Joy is an idealistic hippie who harbors unrealistic musical aspirations and who betrays a hapless naivety which society cannot help but exploit. Helen is a smug, shallow and self-absorbed writer of pornographic novels who longs to be raped so that the experience can lend her books more authenticity and her empathy with her characters. Trish is a mother of two who thinks Joy is a loser and Helen conceited, and, unbeknownst to her, she has tied the knot with a pedophile. Add to the mix an obese loner who dreams of raping his neighbor (“Helen”) and a hulking, psychopathic ice-cream glutton who has no qualms about dicing men up and refrigerating their severed remains, and it becomes patently clear that you are in for a disquieting cinematic ride. The fact that this sort of thing actually happens in the States, and hardly on an infrequent basis, intensifies any discomfort the audience begins to feel from observing Solondz’s characters. As the film progresses, you watch as these otherwise fairly ordinary people struggle to reconcile their unsavory inclinations with their day-to-day lives and, when all is said and done, it is a less than happy picture that Solondz has painted.
Despite the odious nature of the behavior under scrutiny in this film, that Solondz can still generate the amount of laughter he does from such appalling subject matter is testimony to his directorial skill. In fact, Solondz's technique is common to other talented directors similarly concerned with this type of darker production: confront the audience with disturbing topics, make the interaction between characters — and make even the character names (“Joy”, “Mona”) — quite incongruous, farcical even at times, throw in an equally ironic and comical soundtrack, prevent the audience from really identifying with any of the characters and then allow the audience to leave the theater reflecting upon the issues raised. Necessarily, as a black comedy, Happiness makes you often feel quite uneasy and the film frequently leaves you unsure as to whether laughter, sadness or revulsion is the more appropriate response. And, of course, it is exactly because of this that Happiness will engender a great disparity in audience reaction.
In the final analysis, Happiness may not be the most subtle or poignant of films to consider the awkward themes of rape and child abuse, but Solondz, nevertheless, should be congratulated for delivering such a bold, unflinching and extremely provocative take on the habits and moral dilemmas of a few members of ‘normal’ middle America. There is no doubt that this film will evoke strong feelings in any cinema-goer.
More Reviews
(American Beauty, Gladiator)
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