Happiness (1998) film review - one of the most disturbing films ever made?
★★★★★
Rape, murder, and paedophilia - ‘Happiness’ is a deeply funny, dark, and controversial look into the lives and secrets of one American family.
Director: Todd Solondz. Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker, Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Cynthia Stevenson. 18 cert, 139 min.
Wow. Where do I start? ‘Happiness’ can best be described as a deeply funny, dark, and controversial look into the lives and secrets of one American family and the people around them. On the one hand it is a depressing portrait of failed relationships, loneliness, and even sexual abuse. However, it is also simultaneously ironic, clever and at times hilarious. Directed by Todd Solondz, it is often described as being one of the most disturbing films ever made. Perhaps the reason it is so disturbing is because it is an unflinchingly honest account of what it is to be human. ‘Happiness’ takes a seemingly ordinary American family and peels back the layers of dysfunction over the course of the film, creating an in-depth character study of the search for happiness and fulfilment which is, in my opinion, at once distressing and beautiful.
Happiness (1998) film poster artwork
‘If only I had been raped as a child! Then I would know authenticity!’
‘Happiness’ focuses primarily on the lives of three sisters. Trish Maplewood, played by Cynthia Stevenson, is a housewife playing happy families with her husband and two sons. She likes to flaunt her achievement of the all-American dream. Meanwhile her husband, Bill, suffers from violent dreams and disturbing sexual fantasies about little boys. The middle sister, Helen Jordan is played by Lara Flynn Boyle. Helen is a beautiful and successful author, but is simultaneously bored and unfulfilled. When talking about the superficiality of her work, she states ‘If only I had been raped as a child! Then I would know authenticity!’ Though incredibly distasteful, lines like these are what make ‘Happiness’ such a shocking work of art. Regardless of the disgust we feel at watching such crass behaviour, the blunt deliverance and gruesome reality of its storyline give this film a strange allure and watchability.
This may be because Solondz creates characters which are both repulsive but strangely sympathetic. As a viewer, we have no choice but to feel compassion for these people who are searching for happiness in all the wrong places. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the youngest sister, Joy Jordan. Played by Jane Adams, Joy has strong morals but is painfully naïve. We watch her struggle with feelings of inferiority to her sisters as she is constantly let down by the people around her. The depth of character Solondz is able to provide to such a wide array of miserable individuals is what I think is particularly impressive about ‘Happiness.’ He illustrates not only a single family unit, but the connections which tie that family to the suffering of others. As such, it never once feels shallow as it masterfully portrays the maladies present in American society.
Jane Adams in ‘Happiness’ (1998)
‘Well, we all have our pluses and minuses.’
Warning: contains spoilers. The best performance in ‘Happiness’ is undoubtedly given by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of Allen. Allen is a repressed middle-aged man who is enamoured by a woman living in the same apartment block as him, Helen Jordan. He enacts this obsession through explicit anonymous phone calls, facing constant rejection in his pursuit of pleasure. As a result of this rejection, Allen also entertains a tentative relationship with his other neighbour Kristina, played by Camryn Manheim. Drawn together by a shared loneliness and sense of disconnection from their peers, Allen and Kristina’s interactions make for awkward viewing. In a diner together, Kristina reveals her brutal murder of the doorman. Allen then delivers what is perhaps my favourite line of the entire film; ‘well, we all have our pluses and minuses.’ The bathos of this is an apt representation of what Solondz does so well. Fearless, bold, and ironic, ‘Happiness’ is understated in its normalisation of shocking acts.
‘I came!’
In the final scene of the film, we see the entire Jordan family seated around a dinner table. As viewers, we have observed over the course of the film the disintegration of Trish’s marriage as a result of her husband’s sexual abuse of young boys. This has also had a profound impact on Trish’s son, Billy. Bill’s openness about his desires when confronted by his son is one of the more uncomfortable scenes in ‘Happiness,’ which speaks volumes as the film is full of them. We have also seen the split of Mona and Lenny, the parents of the Jordan children, and the struggles of Helen and Joy. The final scene is therefore a poignant reminder of the main message conveyed in ‘Happiness.’ As the entire family toast ‘to happiness,’ Solondz remarks on the fascinating ability of people to mask their suffering. Not to mention, of course, the final line of the film, which really drives home the dark comedic irony of this superficial family gathering. After pleasuring himself over a woman sunbathing outside, young Billy walks in on the family meal and proudly proclaims ‘I came!’
Should you watch this before you die?
‘Happiness’ illustrates how we can be responsible for the anguish of others in its depiction of a web of unhappy individuals, unknowingly coexisting alongside each other. Though disturbing and at times hard to watch, it is undeniably an excellent film. It enables its viewers to identify with some of the most negatively perceived figures in contemporary society, and as such is a surprisingly objective take on a myriad of controversial topics. For fans of black comedy or for those looking for something shocking and thought-provoking, Solondz’s work is a must watch.