Setting his story in Miami's Jewish community, Solondz updates (using different actors) the characters and stories from his equally disturbing 1998 film "Happiness." Child molester William (Hinds) wants to reconnect with his sons after being released from prison. Meanwhile, the Jordan sisters--Trish (Janney), Joy (Henderson), and Helen (Sheedy)--endure their own personal crises based on past traumas.
If someone were to make a list of the least-expected sequels of all time, Todd Solondz's follow-up to Happiness, Life During Wartime, would have to be on that list. Considering the relatively disappointing Storytelling and Palindromes, what's equally-as-unexpected is the dramatic effectiveness of Solondz's most heartfelt and un-ironic film to ...Read More