Life During Wartime-Reviewed

Hello all,
After a week of watching plenty of horror i thought i would give a try to"Life during wartime"The new film from director of "Happiness"Todd Solondz.
Although not everyones cup of tea(mainly critics)"Happiness"was a grim thought provoking film and this is very much in the same vane.
The basic story revolves around a very disfunctional family with the mum and dad seperated and the boys mother in love with another man,on the eve of there mother introducing the boys to there future stepfather their real father is released from prison and they have to decided basically wether to forgive or forget,oh by the way did i mention that there father was a peodaphile?There you go you see,like i said it does have many many challenge elements and tackles very delicate subjects that most filmakers would shy away from but hat's of to Todd solondz for doing this in such a way it makes for compelling viewing indeed.
I did think that"life during wartime"seemed a lot more stronger film than his previous film"Happiness"i did really really like"happiness"but this to me does seem a big leap forward in basic things like character studies,cinematography and humour,yes humour!
Having read the basic synopsis you probably think "humour?"but i kid you not,its depth of characters does make you live with them and to me its always a sign of great filmaker when the characters get to smile you do too and i found myself doing exactly that.
Out now on dvd on "Artificial eye"films and its well worth a buy in my opinion.
8/10
jonny t.
SYNOPSIS FROM IMDB
"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."