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I found it absolutely disgusting and off-putting in the deepest of ways, which is actually a testament to the power of its script because most of the movie is just dialogues (though the violence was very disturbing to me, even if most of it is just implied). I really don’t like to think about children being drugged and raped though, especially by their friends’ parents at sleepovers. I have all the empathy in the world for folks like Bill Maplewood, but anal rape is anal rape. When it comes to pedophilia, I actually feel that Todd Solondz’s later film, PALINDROMES, did a much better job at humanizing someone who might struggle with such attractions. The pedophile in that was disarmingly tragic. He’s a darker character. He’s a criminal and a murderer rather than a Mr Ward Cleaver-type of father figure. But he also has a much more clearly defined moral compass and expresses more guilt and humanity than anyone else in the film. The main character even comes to recognize him as someone who doesn’t want to actually harm children and really wants to save and protect them. I don’t want to spoil any more, but it’s a twisted movie. Much more than HAPPINESS, I think. But I think it has something deeper to say (though I will admit that HAPPINESS is more tightly written and far less complicated as a film). Both films are wonderful but not something I’d ever watch again. Once was enough. Come to think of it, I probably didn’t need to watch them even one time. |