Available from Radiance Films on June 24th, 2025
Aviva is a growing teen heading into womanhood, going through many changes while surrounded by family and friends.
Written and directed by Todd Solondz, a filmmaker known for his Cinema of Cruelty, Palindromes is very much a Solondz film in that it tells the story of a young woman in a less-than-ideal situation, who goes through more and more less-than-ideal twists and turns before growing up with a bleak outlook on life. The writing and direction here both work really well together, and they make for a film that has its creator’s signature all over it. However, if you are not a Todd Solondz fan, this will likely not change your mind. For this viewer, that is indeed the case, and this is a film that will not be chosen for rewatch unless needed for work purposes. That being said, fans of Solondz should be quite happy with this outing from the master of films that make you sad.
The cast here is a revolving one with multiple actors playing the same parts, in particular that of Aviva, not only because of elapsed time between each part of the film but also by choice to show the different period, eras, and evolving personalities of each character as they move within the story. Some of these choices, while all talented actors, will make some scratch their heads. Aviva is the main example of this, having actresses of different races taking on the part for each segment. Playing Aviva, for example, as she is the lead character, are Sharon Wilkins, Will Denton, Rachel Corr, Hannah Freiman, Valerie Shusterov, Emani Sledge, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. All do decent to great work here and this list of cast for one character should make it clear that this is a film that requires full attention to even keep up with what is going on. The rest of the cast as a few instances of this, but most are the same actor for the one role throughout the film. This means that it makes it even harder to notice at times who is who and why this new girl is showing up. Of course, to some, this is a feature and not a bug of the film.
In terms of the technical side, Palindromes looks every bit the early 2000s indie film that it is. It’s a bit older looking and it puts together images that look like the people living in them could probably have a better life somewhere else. The cinematography by Tom Richmond looks exactly how one would think a Todd Solondz film should look like. The scenes are well-framed, the lighting looks like it’s either natural or found lighting, and the image quality is that of an indie film that does not want to pretend it’s anything else. The editing by Nathan Larson works well with this, giving some scenes room to breathe and others a bit more of a rushed feeling (something a bit rarer here). The images and their editing pair well together and help the viewer who may not be into this throughout the story.
Palindromes is film meant for fans of Todd Solondz and will likely not win anyone over who has not loved him or have a tendency for loving these types of movies. There is something here, but the constant change of cast of the central character of Aviva makes it hard to really get into the film. While a challenging subject in a film like this is very welcome, the change in cast made it difficult to get into the story and the film.
This new release from Radiance Films includes both the Blu-ray and the 4K of the film and for the needs of this review, the Blu-ray was watched. The look and sound of the film were good here, nothing stellar, but it all works well for the story at hand. The extras here include a trailer, an interview with Solondz that will appeal mostly to his fans, an interview with cast member Alexander Brickel, and a visual essay by Lillian Crawford about Todd Solondz and His Cinema of Cruelty. These extras, as well as the booklet, will likely be of more interest to fans of the film or the filmmaker here. For others, watching them all may be a bit less enticing.