Sin #59: A Lifeless Ordinary

When I was a kid I was a clear target for bullying; most of the times they made fun of my weight, my height, my glasses…hell, anything that made me look “abnormal” was an excuse for a tirade of verbal abuse. Still, I grew up ok (well, some might debate me on that) and now I can look back and feel a sense of accomplishment for surviving that period.

Although my childhood had its problems, it definitely wasn’t as tough as Dawn Wieners’, the heroine of “Welcome to the Dollhouse”. With her big glasses and ridiculous dress, she is repulsive even to other outcasts (and only has one friend in the whole world who, appropriately, she makes fun off with insulting homophobic remarks). At home things are even worse as her adorable little sister gets all the attention and all she can do is abuse and insult her mercilessly. But one day, things sort of change for Dawn as she falls in love with an older guy who sings in his brother’s band. The guy is a jerk but she doesn’t care, for her he represents an escape from her repressed reality.

Dawn is not a particularly appealing character but I liked her anyway, mostly because she resembles a real teen on a real school environment. While most movies create a glossy and artificial vision of youth, “Welcome to the Dollhouse” cuts to the bone and doesn’t sugarcoat its characters’ situations. And even though sometimes the movie borders on surrealism (especially with the incident about the sister’s kidnapping) it always stays focused on Dawn and her own perception on things around her (including a rather poignant if ambiguous final scene on a school bus).

While youth is all about exploration and maturity, adulthood is all about settlement and resentment. Most of the times it leads to an unhappy life, while sometimes it can lead to lust and depravity; basically any vice will do to take us far from the routine and mundane. Just look at the characters of “Happiness”, a wicked satire of American society that doesn’t blink in the face of taboos. We have the suburban family and their hypocritical facade that’s hiding a pedophile father, a man who makes dirty phone calls and lusts for his neighbor (only to be turned off when he discovers her kinky side) and the neighbor’s sister who is miserable and lonely and survives endless humiliations practically 24/7; and there are more, a lot more (including the sister’s parents and a Russian illegal immigrant).

The director on the films is Todd Solondz and both share a bleak tone with burst of very, very dark humor. While none are graphically explicit, they certainly deal with themes that will disturb a lot of viewers, especially on the implication of the character’s actions and their emotional corrosion. Both movies are fascinating and very sad, but also hypnotic since they evoke very strong reactions from us by creating compelling characters (the actors give wonderful performances, especially Dylan Baker who has a breathtaking scene where he confesses his sins to his son).

“Happiness” and “Welcome to the Dollhouse” are the kind of experiences where you don’t know whether to cry or laugh; its unsettling material that goes to places where most movies chose not to go. With both works Solondz establishes himself as one on the most audacious directors on the American independent front. While they are no easy films to take, they are definitely unforgettable.