Life During Wartime

Perhaps inspired in part by his 2005 experiment Palindromes, in which provocative indie director Todd Solondz cast eight different actors to play the same lead role in what was a semi-sequel to his acclaimed 1996 breakout picture Welcome to the Dollhouse, he chose to create a semi-sequel to his 1998 shock and awe yarn Happiness, casting different actors in the notable parts.  Perhaps it's all some sort of joke that I'm just not smart or hip enough to totally understand, but in watching Solondz's latest naughty bitty, Life During Wartime, there's nothing but a vacuum; a wannabe jolting piece of independent filmmaking more dragging than insightful, more boring than clever.  This is all a shame considering the wonderful ensemble of gifted actors willing to participate in his wordy diatribe about nothing, including Allison Janney, Shirley Henderson, Ally Sheedy, Ciarian Hinds and Charlotte Rampling.  It's also wasteful potential sense the origin story being Happiness, while a great many things, had something essential that Life During Wartime doesn't: a beating pulse.  And while there's a semi-interest in seeing Hinds recreate the suburban pedophile role made famous by Dylan Baker, or Janney tackle Cynthia Stevenson's take on his wife, Sheedy try and out out-bitch Lara Flynn Boyle, etc., ultimately there's little to ruminate on here, or much of a point.  There's a few pointed patches of dialogue centered around the nature of forgiving and forgetting (assuming everyone's past in the original film), and bit of post 9\11 politicizing, but there's not much reason in it's being.  Shockingly this drab and colorless remake (purposefully done by Ed Lachman, an undeniable talent-- his Oscar nominated lensing of Far From Heaven is best of the decade material, as far as I'm concerned) won the screenplay prize at last years Venice Film Festival.  On my account there's no story, only a basic rational for these characters converging yet again, an over-reliance of Happiness subtext (I liked the film, but come on, it was twelve years ago, I don't remember everything dotted I), and a rather pointless and meandering structure.  Perhaps Solondz should retire his classic characters and focus on new and more interesting provocations.  Clearly the talent to provoke and prod is still there desperate to come back to frighten and challenge a new generation of filmgoers.  D+