Dark Horse (2012)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

"Don't think about it...do it or shut up about it"...the words of Abe's co-worker when he talks about killing himself.Back in 1995, Todd Solondz made "Welcome to the Dollhouse". It certainly was not a feel-good film but was incredibly insightful and Solondz showed a deft hand at directing and writing a story about a troubled teen. Because it was so well made, I decided to watch another one of his films, "Dark Horse"...but was really disappointed. Like his previous film, it was incredibly depressing but also presented characters I really didn't care for in the least. Abe is a 30-something loser. He's a fat slob who lives with his parents and he is essentially very much like Comic Book Man from "The Simpsons". At first, your heart hurts for the lonely guy...but through the course of the film you realize he's not worth caring about because he's so self-absorbed and has a sense of entitlement. What ultimately happens to him is really a downer...but not as sad as it could have been because I didn't care...I just wanted it to end.Overall, a disappointing film and I wish I could have that 90 minutes or so of my life back.

First I want to make it clear that the reason I disliked this movie is not the subject matter. I like movies about losers and loners and Solondz treated this thoroughly unlikable character with as much dignity as possible. He should be applauded for taking such a risk. I'm not even against the implausibility of the story. Everyone must surrender reality when watching movies. The problem is that it is a poorly made movie. Almost every scene is incomplete. No dialogue to summarize the importance of the scene. Scene after meaningless scene goes by, like looking at pages in a magazine. One scene is even cropped with a character in mid sentence. And a pivotal scene is totally missing: the reason Abe ends up in the hospital. That would have been a very important scene! Then, if you weren't already annoyed with the meandering story, the story goes off into a fantasy. The problem is, the characters in his fantasy are real life characters so you don't know if what you're watching is really happening or the fantasy. Then the movie ends in typical Hollywood fashion, except it seems like Solondz didn't know how to end his movie so he tacked on no less than 4 endings! You will never understand nor care why these characters act the way they do nor understand how the events in the movie changed their lives for the better of worse. By the end of the movie, everybody is sort of just standing around or staring off into space, just like the audience.

Todd Solondz has a reputation of character studying depressing, nasty characters. But some characters, are just so nasty, is it even worth studying them to begin with? Dark Horse focuses on Abe. Abe is an utterly gross human being. Every time he was on screen, I wanted to dry heave. He's sweaty looking and painfully obnoxious. Every person he comes in contact with, he just treats like garbage. Worst of all, he thanklessly lives with his parents, whom he really hates, because they would constantly favor his successful brother over him. Solondz wants us to sympathize with this character. Good luck, folks. There isn't a shred of likability in this character. He acts like a petty bitch from the get-go. His negativity effects everyone around him. He's certainly not the victim that Solondz wants us to believe he is. It's not like he was the victim of neglect or abuse of any sort. If a dark, sad past was established, then I would whole-heartedly sympathize with what we could all agree is a broken man. Abe isn't broken. He's intentionally a scumbag. On a narrative level, it really doesn't work. Nothing really moves forward from the basis of our main character lashing out at everyone close to him, just because he's a proud man- child. I was just annoyed by it all. Probably not as annoyed, however, as Toys R' Us, demanding that the film digitally blur out their name… So I guess there's that.

I almost watched every single Tod Solondz' movie, except "Fear, anxiety and depression". I firmly believe that he's one of the most sincere, provoking and profound movie directors of our time. He dares to tell audiences what life really is. Now "Dark horse" is said to be a dark comedy and it is, in some way. But I feel that in this particular case the comedic side loses space in favor of the tragic one. Darckness, lack of hope reign in this film. Solondz is quite explicit about it, especially in the last toy store scene, when Abe is told the truth about himself. At the end of the movie you see that Abe's life is a wasted one. Check the final scene, when Abe's father and cousin are discussing business details while the secretary is fantasizing about him. Check the cemetery scene where you see that even the date on his tombstone is wrong, like one of the most poignant moments of every man's life was meaningless. There is more: it's like Abe doesn't belong to the world of men where he should to. The only ones who grieve for him are women. But even so the guy is hopeless: he is wiped out the face of the hearth. Those are the reasons why I felt pleasantly disturbed by the film: there is no way out, what little hope shows up is useless. However, there are flaws, mister Solondz: first Selma Blair's performance is somehow dry: she does the right moves, she uses the right tones of voice but she is not very convincing. And there are too much statements: the characters are too explicit about their feelings. I think they should come out with more subtlety like they did in Happiness and Storytelling