Life During Wartime Page #5

Synopsis: Separated from her incarcerated husband Bill (Hinds), Trish (Janney) is about to be married again. Bill is a pedophile, so Trish couldn't be more excited to have Harvey (Lerner), a "normal" father figure for her two sons. But when Bill is released from prison and the boys finally meet their future stepdad, the family is forced to decide whether to forgive or to forget. Trish's sister, the virginal, angelic Joy (Henderson), is also haunted by ghosts of lovers past. On leave from her degenerate husband, Allen (Williams), and her job at a New Jersey correctional facility, Joy unwittingly leaves behind a trail of shame and exposed secrets wherever she goes. In one of the film's most stylized sequences, the image of Joy walking the dark streets of Miami in her nightgown maintains her innocence against a backdrop of self-affliction and desire.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Todd Solondz
Production: IFC Films
  3 wins & 8 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Metacritic:
69
Rotten Tomatoes:
68%
R
Year:
2009
98 min
$278,821
Website
496 Views


You scream.

Avi Fleischer said

that pedophiles are terrorists...

and that they stick their penises

into your... tushy.

Avi Fleischer doesn't know

what he's talking about.

There are other things.

Your father may have been a pedophile,

but he was also a man and a father...

- and some things -

- Oh, Mom.

I don't want anything ever

to go inside of me, not ever.

Oh, Timmy. Timmy, don't worry.

Don't worry. Nothing -

Nothing will ever get inside you!

Not so long as I'm around.

[ S.U.V. Departing ]

[ Lawn Mower Whirring In Distance]

[ Insect Buzzing ]

[ Door Clattering ]

[ Lock Snaps ]

[ Clock Ticking ]

[ Clock Chiming ]

?? [ Woman Singing Aria ]

[ Children Shouting. Laughing Outdoors ]

[ Birds Chirping ]

?? [ Piano..Lounge]

- ?? [ Continues ]

- [ People Chattering ]

Mind if I join you?

Please.

Forgive me. Please tell me you're straight.

- I am.

- Oh, thank God.

So what are you doing here all alone?

Work.

- You like your work?

- It pays.

Good. Then we don't have

to talk about it.

- Are you alone?

- Married.

Alone. The same thing.

No. Alone is alone.

I'm good at reading people, you know.

What do you read now?

Well, I see a man...

and he's alone, and he's straight.

That's good enough for me.

You are good.

My husband was a fag.

Must have been hard.

Only man I ever loved.

What happened to him?

Stuff.

- Any kids?

- Not anymore.

Just a pack of wolves,

and they're out for blood.

How so?

They've decided I'm the villain.

- I'm a monster.

- Why do they think that?

'Cause I am a monster.

People can't help it...

if they're monsters.

They can't be forgiven either.

Have you asked for forgiveness?

[ Scoffs ]

I'm not a fool.

If I were them,

I wouldn't forgive me either.

In my family,

there are only winners and losers.

And only losers ask for forgiveness.

Only losers expect to get it.

The world out there...

it can be harsh.

What the hell do you know

about the world out there...

that I don't already know... twice over?

The enemy's within.

Your room have a view?

No.

Same here.

Who the f*** needs one anyway?

Why do you feel that way?

What are you, a shrink?

I need more than a caress.

[ Grunting, Gasping ]

How much do you need?

- What?

- It's okay.

I understand.

It was hard work.

I'm old.

There's a stash in the Chanel -

the zippered pocket. Take it all.

What are you looking at?

Don't start pretending like you care...

like I'm not a monster...

like I still have a heart that -

Forgive me.

F*** off, prick.

[ Trish ] What do you want, honey?

Let me just make it simple for her.

She's got some food issues.

Let's just get a mesclun salad, no pepper.

Just very simple.

And I'll have the Salade Nioise

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Todd Solondz

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is an American independent film screenwriter and director known for his style of dark, thought-provoking, socially conscious satire. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia," a reflection of his own background in New Jersey.[1] His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Happiness (1998), Storytelling (2001), Palindromes (2004), Life During Wartime (2009), and Dark Horse (2012). more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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