Todd Solondz just scored one of the best reviews of his career with A.O. Scott’s New York Times rave for Dark Horse, opening today. Favorably comparing it to Death of a Salesman (!), Scott writes: But Mr. Solondz brilliantly — triumphantly — turns this impression on its head, transforming what might have been an exercise in easy satirical cruelty into a tremendously moving argument for the necessity of compassion. Again and again — in the ’90s indie touchstones Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, and more recently in Life During Wartime — this director has blurred the boundary between misanthropy […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 8, 2012“I want to want you,” says the cripplingly depressed Miranda (Selma Blair) to her suitor with excruciating honesty. The coddled, overweight Abe (Jordan Gelber), a compulsive collector who still lives at home with his parents (Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken), will take what he can get. “That’s enough for me,” he breathes. In Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse, the queasy tale of a 35-year-old man-child who decides to add a wife to his possessions, the writer-director’s dialogue is as sharp as ever, each line an arrow poisoned with sincerity. Known for colorful, stylized, cynical films including Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), […]
by Livia Bloom Ingram on Jun 7, 2012In a press release today Ted Hope announced that Todd Solondz’s new film, Dark Horse, went into production on October 11. Hope is producing through his new Double Hope production company, and the cast includes Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Jordan Gelber, Donna Murphy and Christopher Walken. Andrij Parekh (Blue Valentine) is shooting, Derrick Tseng is co-producing, and Goldcrest is handling international sales. From the press release: Mr. Solondz helms the tale of Abe (Jordan Gelber), a 30-something who lives with his parents, reluctantly works for his father (Christopher Walken), and avidly collects toys. When Abe isn’t playing backgammon […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 15, 2010