Palindromes | AccessAtlanta

'Palindromes': Unlike anything you've seen at the movies
by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

A palindrome is a word that's the same spelled backwards and forwards — like dad or tot or, well, Aviva, the film's protagonist. Director Todd Solondz's point is no matter how much we change on the outside, we remain essentially the same. Our identities are immutable; they can be read backward or forwards. In "Palindromes," Aviva's identity floats through different bodies like a wandering soul. She is played by eight different performers: a chubby African-American child, several teenage girls of varying weights and hair colors, a preteen boy, an obese African-American woman and ... Jennifer Jason Leigh. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Awkward and sensitive, 12-year-old Aviva Victor wants to be a mother. When her parents encourage her to have an abortion, she runs away, determined to have as many children as possible so that, she reasons, she'll always have somebody to love.

FILM FACTS ...

Wellspring

'Palindromes'

Director: Todd Solondz
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ellen Barkin, Richard Masur, Matthew Faber, Will Denton, Angela Pietropinto, Valerie Shusterov, Hannah Freiman, Rachel Corr, Sharon Wilkins,
Run time: 100 minutes
Release date: April 13, 2005
Rating: Not rated, but there are strong images of sexual acts, a murder, etc.
See showtimes

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B-
"Palindromes is unlike anything you've seen at the movies. Plus, the picture is often redeemed by the director's daunting intelligence and pitch-black humor."

Read the full review

Austin American-Statesman: 3 of 5 stars
"If the content weren't challenging enough, the filmmaker throws some narrative experiments in as well. Every reel or two, Aviva is played by a different actress (or, at one point, actor). It's hard to say that this reveals some evolving consciousness on the character's part, because Aviva remains pretty dim."