a freaking fantastic movie. my second viewing came this weekend. useful reviews here and here.
an amazing story about an ugly, unpopular seventh-grade girl from new jersey.
though the film is NOT a bildungsroman -- it's pretty much an anti-pygmalion -- it is deft at making the audience feel as though we are always on the verge of witnessing the main character's growth from an ugly worm into a beautiful butterfly. the funny thing is that this transformation never happens. i think it's what makes the film successful: there are no easy hollywood endings here. dawn is in the same position at the end of the film as she was at the beginning: despised by everyone, her family included.
so while 'welcome' seems to have the feel of a coming of age film, it seems to me that such thinking is invited by the film but then undercut at the conclusion. then one can think back and realize that the film really chronicles interesting and prevalent aspects of late-20th century american suburban life: frustrated desires, personal and professional failures, and entrenched melancholy.
oh, and did i mention it's a comedy? the film's dark humor can be explained by one scene in which dawn's friend/tormentor brandon becomes fixated and decides to call and threaten her: "tomorrow, same time, same place. you get raped. be there." this 'threat as date' is not meant to belittle the horrible horrible act of rape; rather, it merely serves as a way to further remind us what the world looks like through dawn's eyes. things are so bad that even the most horrible acts have a certain everyday quality to them.
like i said, dark humor. watch the damn film!
an amazing story about an ugly, unpopular seventh-grade girl from new jersey.
though the film is NOT a bildungsroman -- it's pretty much an anti-pygmalion -- it is deft at making the audience feel as though we are always on the verge of witnessing the main character's growth from an ugly worm into a beautiful butterfly. the funny thing is that this transformation never happens. i think it's what makes the film successful: there are no easy hollywood endings here. dawn is in the same position at the end of the film as she was at the beginning: despised by everyone, her family included.
so while 'welcome' seems to have the feel of a coming of age film, it seems to me that such thinking is invited by the film but then undercut at the conclusion. then one can think back and realize that the film really chronicles interesting and prevalent aspects of late-20th century american suburban life: frustrated desires, personal and professional failures, and entrenched melancholy.
oh, and did i mention it's a comedy? the film's dark humor can be explained by one scene in which dawn's friend/tormentor brandon becomes fixated and decides to call and threaten her: "tomorrow, same time, same place. you get raped. be there." this 'threat as date' is not meant to belittle the horrible horrible act of rape; rather, it merely serves as a way to further remind us what the world looks like through dawn's eyes. things are so bad that even the most horrible acts have a certain everyday quality to them.
like i said, dark humor. watch the damn film!
2 comments:
Badam, don't forget the other fine films in the Todd Solondz oeuvre, particularly "Happiness" and "Palindromes."
"Happiness" brings dark comedy to a place even the Coen brothers would not dare go. [Are we supposed to laugh or not? Aye, there's the rub.] Stellar ensemble cast as well.
Dave went to elementary school with Heather Matarazzo in NY.
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