Review by Variety

In revisiting his darkly comic 1998 ensembler “Happiness,” Todd Solondz may have made his best film with “Life During Wartime.” The distinctive, boundary-pushing writer-director has had the eccentric inspiration to resurrect the same central characters a decade later, but using entirely different actors.

Winning result, which reels off one riveting scene after another, stands as both a unique sort-of sequel and a film that requires no prior reference points; it’s entirely satisfying either way, though even richer if you recall the antecedent. The resolutely niche filmmaker has never had a real breakout success and the confrontational nature of his latest won’t change that fact, but his loyal following will be buoyed by this strong effort.

A rare collection of sexual quagmires and perversions lay at the heart of “Happiness,” and a most impressive aspect of the new film is how it so piercingly examines the residue and continuing ramifications of those dilemmas a decade later. Best remembered, no doubt, is the pedophile father, Dylan Baker’s Bill Maplewood, a shrink and father of three kids who can’t keep his mind or hands off young boys.

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Review by Shadowsonthewall

Solondz takes a sideways approach to this sequel to his 1998 hit Happiness. With an all-new cast, it feels almost like a jazz riff, playing with the characters and themes and sending them in new directions. And it’s both hilarious and clever.

When she realises that her husband (Williams) hasn’t overcome his urge to make obscene phone calls, Joy (Henderson) heads to Florida to see her sister Trish (Janney), who has told everyone that her husband Bill (Hinds) has died. But he’s actually in prison for abusing a young boy. Trish is now seeing a nice Jewish man (Lerner) and being a bit too honest with her son Timmy (Snyder). She’s also pretty useless to Joy, who heads to California to see their other sister Helen (Sheedy), who’s now a Hollywood screenwriter.

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Review by The Hollywood Reporter

Bottom Line: Todd Solondz’s irresistible return to Miami in a comedy about forgiving.

Venice Film Festival — Competition

VENICE — Glancing backward at the 1998 “Happiness,” his postmodern look at a dysfunctional family, Todd Solondz liberally updates the characters and their stories in “Life During Wartime,” a heady mix of deadpan humor that boldly uses such topics as pedophilia, race and terrorism to plead the need for forgiveness at a personal and national level.

The setting again is Miami’s Jewish community, with its bar mitzvahs, neuroses and fixation on Israel, which becomes an instant microcosm for all America. Profound in its funny hipness, it shows Solondz as the true heir to Woody Allen, albeit on a far kinkier and politically/socially engaged level. This could be the film that enlarges Solondz’s list of loyal fans, who at the moment are clustered around film festivals.

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