Current insistence on political correctness often imposes a
barrier to exploring subjects in film that are considered
inappropriate in an otherwise polite society. Filmmaker Todd Solondz,
who wrote and directed this movie as well as such cult classics as
Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, gleefully ignores such taboos
and presses ahead to satirize sexuality, physical handicaps,
exploitation of the uneducated poor, adolescent angst, racism, rape,
and Hitler (not necessarily in that order). This time, the creative
process of conveying a story sets the stage for two vignettes: one is
set on a college campus and revolves around a professor and his
students in an undergraduate writing class; the other is set in New
Jersey suburbia, as an amateur documentarian tries to capture the
aspirations of a middle-class high school senior. Each revolves around
the idea of Storytelling.
The first chapter is the
shorter of the two; "Fiction" runs a mere twenty-seven
minutes. Vi (Selma Blair) is sleeping with Marcus (Leo Fitzpatrick).
He has cerebral palsy and suspects that her attraction is based on the
kinkiness of his affliction. They take the same writing course and
when his latest work is torn to shreds in class, he resents her
refusal to listen and critique his short story after sex the previous
day. They argue and Vi is driven to seek a one-night stand; although
all her instincts tell her to flee, she fears being racist and stays.
The assault she suffers is worse than she had feared, but when she
writes about the experience in explicit detail for her course, her
classmates accuse her of vulgarity and racial stereotyping. Of course,
there is one person in the classroom who knows Vi is being
truthful... The second chapter is called "Nonfiction"
and runs four minutes short of an hour. Toby Oxman (Paul Giamatti) is
frustrated. He never fulfilled his high school dream of becoming an
actor, and instead went off to college and law school, only to drop
out. Now he sells shoes and wants more, so he decides to make a
documentary and approaches the principal of Fairfield High School, Mr.
Kirk (Steve Railsback), for permission to film his students. Kirk is
not receptive, but Toby runs into the adrift Scooby Livingston (Mark
Webber), whose overbearing father Marty (John Goodman) and enabling
mother Fern (Julie Hagerty) offer all the wrong incentives. He's not a
great student, and he may be sexually confused, and can only see some
vague future as a television talk-show host. Toby smells a
subject...
Having no idea just how dysfunctional and
fascinating this family will be, he sets about taping Scooby
throughout the day; the Livingston family life in all its ugly detail
is recorded for posterity. Toby missed an earlier diner conversation
that convulsed into a father's rage when Scooby suggested that if
weren't for the Holocaust, his grandparents wouldn't have fled Europe,
his parents wouldn't have met, and he wouldn't have been born.
Apparently, crediting Hitler with anything - however indirect - is
more than Marty can tolerate. Disagree with him about anything at your
own peril... 
There is even more - a terrible
accident and unexpected death, the heartless firing of the live-in
housekeeper, Consuelo (Lupe Ontiveros), and Scooby will discover in a
most painful way just how pathetic he's become. If Storytelling
sounds like heavy going, it is, particularly the earlier
"Fiction." Solondz seems to be saying that one is not guilty
of racial prejudice by listening to an instinct to avoid brutality
based on behavior, and that political correctness can be a trap. But
in the second vignette, Solondz laced the screenplay with some wicked
humor that amuses before you realize how inappropriate your laughter
might be. The players are uniformly good, with only Selma Blair's
performance just a tad flat.
Video: How Does The Disc
Look?
There are four versions of the film included on this
DVD: a 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer on one layer; a full
frame version on another. When you select Play Movie from the main
menu, you may choose between the two aspect ratios, as well as R-rated
version and unrated versions. (There is one scene in
"Fiction" that depicts a simulated sex act, and when the
MPAA refused to give Solondz the R rating he sought with the scene
intact, he protested by placing an obnoxious red rectangle in front of
the actors to obscure them; this apparently satisfied the MPAA and
allowed the director to make a statement. The unrated version shows
what European audiences were permitted to see; the R-rated version
includes the rectangular mask.) I believe that your rating choice
drives seamless branching; so if any of you still own a player that
cannot deal with this feature very well, be aware.
The
anamorphic transfer is very nice. Halos are almost absent and never
intrude. Small object detail is quite good, with color accuracy
excellent, from skin tones to Vi's pink hair. Primary colors are vivid
and without any chroma noise. Shadow detail is sub par, such as when
Vi comes out of the bathroom in a dimly lit apartment, and few details
are visible in her dark clothes. But bright scenes are quite film-
like, and I noticed no compression artifacts. 
The full frame
version makes clear that this film was soft-matted. More information
is visible in the full frame version above and below the vertical
limits of the widescreen frame, and only a small portion of the image
is lost at the sides. The quality appears to be equivalent to the
anamorphic version.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
There are two English audio tracks, one in Dolby Digital 5.1 and
the other in Dolby Surround. I noticed no surround effects, so I'm a
bit baffled why two such audio tracks are present. Sound effects are
not an issue in this type of film; but requisite noises are rendered
well. And if deep bass is present, I wasn't aware of that, either. The
music is reproduced with reasonable care, but not reference quality.
This genre is a conduit of words so at least the dialog is distortion-
free throughout.
The audio is supported by optional subtitles
in English and French and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
The theatrical
trailer is available in very respectable anamorphic video, and
there are twenty-five chapter stops. If you're really desperate for
extras, selecting the New Line logo at the bottom of the main menu
brings up a screen of disc credits. That's all.
DVD-
ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your
PC?
Unlike most other New Line titles, there are no ROM
extras included.
Parting Thoughts
This is an
intriguing little independent film that deserves some attention, and
to fully appreciate the nuances may require more than one viewing. But
although I found the writing, the genre, and the style absorbing, I
don't think this movie will appeal to the mainstream. I recommend
that, at the very least, you rent Storytelling and give it a
try.
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