Palindromes (2004)

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2005 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Comedy

Plot:

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.

Plot Keywords:

New Jersey | Innocence | Suburb | Neighbor | Kansas

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Matthew Faber	...	Mark Wiener
Angela Pietropinto	...	Mrs. Wiener
Bill Buell	...	Mr. Wiener
Emani Sledge	...	'Dawn' Aviva
Ellen Barkin	...	Joyce Victor
Valerie Shusterov	...	'Judah' Aviva
Richard Masur	...	Steve Victor
Hillary B. Smith	...	Robin Wallace
Danton Stone	...	Bruce Wallace
Robert Agri	...	First Judah
Hannah Freiman	...	'Henry' Aviva
Stephen Singer	...	Dr. Fleischer
Rachel Corr	...	'Henrietta' Aviva
Stephen Adly Guirgis	...	Joe / Earl / Bob
Will Denton	...	'Huckleberry' Aviva
Sharon Wilkins	...	Henrietta Aviva
Alexander Brickel	...	Peter Paul
Ashleigh Hertzig	...	Barbara
Risa Jaz Rifkind	...	Trixie
Dontae Huey	...	Shazaam
Debra Monk	...	Mama Sunshine
Walter Bobbie	...	Bo Sunshine
Tyler Maynard	...	Jiminy
Courtney Walcott	...	Crystal
Joshua Eber	...	Skippy
Khush Kirpalani	...	Ali
Sydney Matuszak	...	Ell
David Castro	...	Carlito
Richard Riehle	...	Dr. Dan
Shayna Levine	...	'Bob' Aviva
Ebrahim Jaffer	...	Motel clerk
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	'Mark' Aviva
Andrea Demosthenes	...	Gwyneth's mom
John Gemberling	...	Second Judah
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maggie Moore	...	Christian Narrator (voice)
Ricky Ashley	...	(uncredited)
Frank L. Goodyear	...	Abortion clinic protester (uncredited)

Directed by
Todd Solondz

Writing credits
Todd Solondz		(written by)

Produced by
Timothy Bird	....	associate producer
Mike S. Ryan	....	producer
Derrick Tseng	....	producer

Original Music by
Nathan Larson

Cinematography by
Tom Richmond

Film Editing by
Mollie Goldstein
Kevin Messman

Casting by
Ann Goulder
Addison McQuigg

Production Design by
David Doernberg

Set Decoration by
Sara Parks

Costume Design by
Victoria Farrell

Makeup Department
Elizabeth Daley	....	makeup artist assistant
Karl Giant	....	hair stylist
Karl Giant	....	makeup artist
Arsen Gurgov	....	hair stylist: Ellen Barkin
Kabuki	....	key hair stylist
Kabuki	....	key makeup artist
Tania Ribalow	....	makeup artist: Ellen Barkin

Production Management
Christopher Edwards	....	post-production supervisor
Cherry Montejo	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather Grierson	....	first assistant director
Keith Jones	....	second assistant director
Sanford McCoy	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Jesse Cain	....	leadman
Molly Page	....	set dresser
Nick Patnaude	....	prop assistant
Josephine Shokrian	....	set dresser
Inbal Weinberg	....	art department coordinator
Scott Zweizen	....	property master

Sound Department
Dominic Bartolini	....	foley engineer
Jerry Cox	....	additional sound mixer
Christof Gebert	....	dialog editor
Christof Gebert	....	production sound mixer
Eric Milano	....	foley artist
Eric Offin	....	supervising sound editor
Tom Paul	....	sound re-recording mixer
Daniel Perlin	....	sound effects designer
Brion Regan	....	boom operator
Brion Regan	....	foley artist
Brion Regan	....	sound effects editor
Paul Sacco	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Jinmo Yang	....	sound assistant
Mark Garcia	....	additional sound designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Peter Kunz	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Luke DiTommaso	....	visual effects
Jennifer Russomanno	....	title designer
Jason Stoff	....	title designer
Keith Yurevitz	....	visual effects
Charlie Kirby	....	MTI artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator
Jeff Ward	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Wylda Bayron	....	second assistant camera
Nicola Benizzi	....	second assistant camera
Kip Bogdahn	....	camera operator: second camera
Oliver Cary	....	additional first assistant camera
Tony Cohen	....	grip
Russell Drake	....	third electrician
Eddie Lee Flandez	....	additional electrician
Avra Fox	....	best boy electric
Connor Gaudet	....	grip
Matthew H. Giordano	....	best boy grip
Matthew H. Giordano	....	grip (as Matt Giordano)
Melissa Guimaraes	....	key grip
Matthew Hale	....	gaffer
Andrew B. Hansen	....	additional gaffer
Carlos Haynes	....	electrician
Steve Huber	....	additional gaffer
Arianna La Penne	....	camera loader
Jody Lee Lipes	....	electrician
Marcus Lehmann	....	best boy electric
Mike Morini	....	grip
Kit Pennebaker	....	camera loader
Macall B. Polay	....	still photographer
Craig Pressgrove	....	first assistant camera
Ross Sebek	....	first assistant camera
Linda Slater	....	second assistant camera
George Su	....	additional grip
Justin Whitaker	....	best boy electric
Toshiro Yamaguchi	....	additional first assistant camera

Animation Department
Sarah Birns	....	animator

Casting Department
Anna Bohichik	....	extras casting assistant
Julie Schubert	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy Deihl	....	wardrobe assistant
Cindy DiPrima	....	costumer
Maya Fineberg	....	costumer
Jennifer Jones	....	wardrobe assistant
Catherine Osborne	....	additional wardrobe supervisor
Michelle Elaine Teague	....	costume assistant
Antonia Xereas	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Chad Beck	....	assistant editor
Steve Calalang	....	dailies colorist
Minnea Lin	....	assistant editor
Dan O'Grady	....	negative cutter
Julie O'Grady	....	negative cutter
David Pultz	....	color timer

Music Department
Garth Bardsley	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
Jonathan Ameli	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Susan Ahn	....	production assistant
Patricia Almeida	....	dog trainer
Alex Cannon	....	office production assistant
Yale Chasin	....	assistant production coordinator
B.J. Cresciman	....	location assistant
Shannon Dennard	....	location coordinator
Hope Dickson Leach	....	assistant to director
Luke DiTommaso	....	title designer
Payton Dunham	....	location manager
Lance Edmands	....	assistant to producers
Adam Nathaniel Greene	....	production assistant
Carlos Haynes	....	production assistant
Jaime Iglehart	....	office production assistant
Markus Janner	....	title designer
K.E. Johnson	....	location assistant
Nat Livingston Johnson	....	craft service (as Nathaniel Johnson)
Dan Knechtges	....	choreographer
Albert Krause	....	production accountant
Ken Kristensen	....	assistant location manager
James Luce	....	film runner
Andrew Lush	....	office production assistant
Cherry Montejo	....	production office coordinator
Cate Nelson	....	production assistant
John Nickel	....	script supervisor
Jean Pesce	....	location assistant
Jennifer Russomanno	....	title designer
Kristy Ryan	....	promotions manager: Australia
Dukyoung Song	....	assistant production coordinator
Katie Stern	....	product placement and clearances
Katie Stern	....	production assistant
Jason Stoff	....	title designer
José Tejada	....	parking coordinator (as Jose Tejada)
Alicia Van Couvering	....	assistant to producers
Loretta Wallace	....	production assistant
Barbara Whan	....	dog trainer
Keith Yurevitz	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Extra Large Pictures

Distributors

• Albatros Film (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Bio Rex Distribution (2006) (Finland) (theatrical) (DVD)
• Diaphana Films (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2004) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Wellspring Media (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alamode Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dolmen Home Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Fox Lorber (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Du Art Digital  titles and opticals
• Final Frame  post-production facilities
• J.G. Films  negative matching
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity
• Ovasen  post-production services and facilities
• Tandem Sound  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Palindrome (Germany) [de]
Palindromer (Denmark) [da]
Palindromes (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Palindromy (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Hungary:16 | Italy:VM14 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:16 | Japan:R-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Company:

Extra Large Pictures

Trivia:

Heather Matarazzo turned down reprising the role of Dawn Wiener in this film.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the scene where Joyce Victor and Aviva are addressing envelopes, Mrs. Victor is licking stamps which are clearly self-adhesive.

Quotes:

'Mark' Aviva Victor: I know. I believe you because pedophiles love children.

Movie Connections:

References "Jackass" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Fight For The Children

A Fascinating Visual Experiment on Hot Button Issues

"Palindromes" is a fascinating visual thought experiment.

Very parallel to Alexander Payne's "Citizen Ruth" in covering some of the same territory about abortion, writer/director Todd Solontz mostly eschews that film's satire and easy jabs for a protean look at an issue that has a more complicated emotional landscape than advocates on either side usually concede.

He does this by literally taking us inside the mind of a young malleable adolescent who intentionally gets pregnant and is surprised at the reactions of those around her. Sometimes we see her as she sees herself, as if we are reading her diary, with her body-hating hopes for a change in hair, skin, age or family, and sometimes we see her as others see her.

Every one wants to control "Aviva" and their hypocritical selfishness is laid bare, regardless of their various good intentions. Her mother sees her still as a baby (a welcome back to the screen for Ellen Barkin who manages to add maternal warmth to hostile dialog) to the discomfiting sexualization (Britney-ization?) of just barely teens that is just barely a step above pedophilia, to how she is seen by pro-life advocates (whose Sunshine Band for "special children" seems almost as exploitative as JonBenet Ramsey's performances) and on in a picaresque dream scape that crosses a nightmare that is a bit extreme, especially for fans of "Welcome to the Dollhouse."

Solontz pulls this off by having every image of "Aviva" (according to the director's production notes) "portrayed by two women, four girls (13-14 years old), one 12-year-old boy, and one 6-year old girl" of widely variant size, shape, color and just about every other possible outward characteristic, even though one haranguer points out that no one can ever really change.

Solontz in a hand-out at the theater defined his use of the title as meaning "a condition of stasis and/or immutability; that part of one's personality or character that resists change, stays the same," but I'm not sure that successfully comes through in this provocative film, especially with some of the acerbic dialog and disturbing actions.

Nathan Larson's music is appropriately eerie, with spooky vocalizations by Nina Persson.

Releasing the film without a rating will probably keep it from being seen by young teens which is too bad as it is a frank and fresh look at the pressures on girls from friends, family and society.