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IMDbPro

Life During Wartime

  • 2009
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
Life During Wartime (2009)
Ten years have passed since a series of shocking and catastrophic revelations shattered the world of the Jordan family.  Now, ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console as sisters Joy (Henderson), Trish (Janney), and Helen (Sheedy) are each embroiled in their own unique dilemmas as they struggle to find their place in an unpredictable and volatile world where the past haunts the present and jeopardizes the future.
Play trailer2:06
2 Videos
77 Photos
Dark ComedyComedyDrama

Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.

  • Director
    • Todd Solondz
  • Writer
    • Todd Solondz
  • Stars
    • Shirley Henderson
    • Allison Janney
    • Ally Sheedy
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    8.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Todd Solondz
    • Writer
      • Todd Solondz
    • Stars
      • Shirley Henderson
      • Allison Janney
      • Ally Sheedy
    • 40User reviews
    • 146Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos2

    Life During Wartime
    Trailer 2:06
    Life During Wartime
    Life During Wartime
    Clip 1:11
    Life During Wartime
    Life During Wartime
    Clip 1:11
    Life During Wartime

    Photos77

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    Top cast23

    Edit
    Shirley Henderson
    Shirley Henderson
    • Joy
    Allison Janney
    Allison Janney
    • Trish
    Ally Sheedy
    Ally Sheedy
    • Helen
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    Michael Kenneth Williams
    • Allen
    Roslyn Ruff
    Roslyn Ruff
    • Waitress
    Michael Lerner
    Michael Lerner
    • Harvey
    Dylan Riley Snyder
    Dylan Riley Snyder
    • Timmy
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    • Bill
    Renée Taylor
    Renée Taylor
    • Mona
    Rebecca Chiles
    • Hostess
    Paul Reubens
    Paul Reubens
    • Andy
    Emma Hinz
    • Chloe
    Charlotte Rampling
    Charlotte Rampling
    • Jacqueline
    Gabriel Quilichini
    • Waiter
    Rich Pecci
    Rich Pecci
    • Mark
    Gaby Hoffmann
    Gaby Hoffmann
    • Wanda
    • (as Gaby Hoffman)
    Carmen Marie Colon Mejia
    • Sarah
    Fernando Samalot
    • Eddie
    • Director
      • Todd Solondz
    • Writer
      • Todd Solondz
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews40

    6.48.1K
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    Featured reviews

    7rooee

    Joy and Sorrow

    11 years after Happiness, his poisonous stab at moral absolutism, Todd Solondz returned with this equally bleak sequel, a continuation of the all-American domestic grotesque. The characters return, except now played by different actors (including a bleary Paul "Pee Wee" Reubens), as does Solondz' ability to challenge expectations with disarming directness and surgical precision.

    This is a less consistent film than its predecessor, particularly in terms of tone. Happiness harboured an almost garish John Waters trash aesthetic, whereas Wartime often shifts into something more sombrely lit and handsome, even entering noir territory at times, as when Ciaran Hinds' Bill and Charlotte Rampling's Jacqueline meet in a whisky-coloured bar to do semantic battle before indulging in a bout of loveless sex.

    The characters are mostly horror movie monsters masked in the fascia of suburban admissibility - none more so than Trish (Allison Janney), the selfish mad-mom who is delighted by the fallacy of the nuclear ideal, lusting after "normal". Her son, Timmy (Dylan Riley Snyder), is the traumatised voice of reason: a humanist on the cusp of corruption. Then there is Joy (Shirley Henderson), a deep-feeling adult alone amidst the animal chaos: frail, fragile and bereft (in mind and body); in search of absent metaphysical guidance; a closed book desperate to do good; desperate to stop pretending any more.

    Loneliness, rape, suicide and despair all echo in a bubble of carefully constructed sentimentality. Wartime doesn't quite carry the joke all the way. Certain latter scenes, particularly involving Hinds' recently-released Bill, are played disconcertingly straight. But then this is a film about the pathology of forgiveness (the film's former title), the corrosive nature of trauma, and the final consolation of repression and faith - themes in which perhaps even Mr Solondz couldn't find the humour.

    "You die for me and I will know you love me," says Allen (The Wire's Michael Kenneth Williams) from the grave. No one in American cinema is better than Solondz at highlighting fickleness and absurdity of human interaction, and the paradoxes we contrive for ourselves. And although it can be wearying to endure such an indictment, we will always need filmmakers willing to float like faecal matter in Hollywood's homogenous soup.
    8littlemartinarocena

    Reflections on "Happiness"

    Todd Solondz is unique and so are his films. He forces you to look through an angle that we systematically ignore. There is an element of tenderness that permeates the darkest of corners and compassion emerges, limpid, clear even rational. This is, if possible, a sequel to his masterful "Happiness" The pain is still palpable but there is a hint of hope, China or not China. "I don't care about freedom or democracy, I care about my dad" Yes, I hear you kid. In the midst of it all, I hear you. Added bonuses: Cieran Hids as a scary, powerful presence. Allison Janney, one of the best American actresses working today. Charlotte Rampling makes an appearance as a sort of escapee from an erotic nightmare and don't you dare ignore or let this film pass you by. Todd Solondz is a great, startling American poet.
    6Bruce-49

    No Comparison

    I would really like to see Todd Solondz produce something on the level of WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE or HAPPINESS again but I'm afraid that I'll just have to settle for watching those earlier works. To be fair, I don't know what he could have done with the characters from HAPPINESS that would have worked better. I revisited HAPPINESS before seeing LIFE DURING WARTIME to refresh my memory. That film crackles throughout with uneasiness. When we laugh, it's to release tension. It's not the cast's fault that this film lacks the same punch. While unrated in the US, my guess is that this would have received a PG-13 or an R for a few exposed breasts. HAPPINESS would have been NC-17 for sure. HAPPINESS was about getting whatever happiness one can no matter the cost to others. This is a film about forgiving and forgetting and moving on. I can certainly forgive Todd Solondz for what he tried to achieve here even as the film fades from memory.
    7E Canuck

    Forgive and forget the weaker parts of a pretty interesting film

    Not being acquainted with Todd Solondz before now, I found myself comparing "Life During Wartime" at an advance screening tonight to the Cohen brothers, "A Serious Man"-- a film I really enjoyed. It felt like it was hitting a lot of the same notes at the front end of the film, with its humour and the Jewish family life. This was considerably darker--don't worry, I noticed.

    I found the Ciaran Hinds story and acting strong, though it made me wary I was being set up to think, "Oh, not such a bad guy, after all." I was relieved this never went further than to suggest, "only human, after all." I'd be interested to hear what some of my social worker friends think of how the film treats this family's big secret, especially in light of the forgiveness theme.

    Joy's thread in this film, quirky and fun as it was at times, felt the weakest. There was something about the character's little girl voice and the vacillation and mood swings that started to annoy and distract me, after a time. Maybe the director was just playing with another cliché, there, about long-suffering women, but, well, see for yourself.
    5Ramalama_FFF

    Solondz disappoints again

    As a big fan of foremost Happiness and Storytelling, I'm very disillusioned about the fact that Todd Solondz may never make great films like those again. This was a disappointment, but not exactly a shock after the gloom of Palindromes.

    I'm not sure if this is really supposed to be a sequel to Happiness in the normal sense, but yes, a lot of the characters from that one are back. Sadly Solondz has turned Joy from a half dysfunctional "loser" to a freak, and every scene with her is pretty unbearable. The dad from the first film has also changed a lot, but that makes sense seeing how he's been in prison for years when the film starts.

    Palindromes sort of drowned in gloom and repulsion. LDW isn't quite the same but it's still bleak, and often creepy. At times it borders to psychological thriller.

    I have to respect Solondz for making a philosophical effort, but if there was a specific point with the story, I didn't quite get it. There's the subject of fear and hysteria in the U.S all over, but other than that, I didn't get that much out of it. All in all it was like a (expectedly) weirdish film with a lot of darkness and absurdity. Happiness and Storytelling were dark but also very funny and balanced with a sort of pleasantness that I just can't see here. It's like a long nightmare.

    Before Palindromes Solondz was to me possibly the greatest living director. I REALLY hope he either gets back to his old form or tries out something new that works better.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A sequel to Todd Solondz's movie Happiness (1998), but with entirely re-cast characters.
    • Goofs
      The plane has no name or identifying number on its outside, as mandated by ICAO, the international aviation agency.
    • Quotes

      Trish: So Mark, what do you do?

      Mark Wiener: Systems analysis.

      Trish: That sounds interesting.

      Mark Wiener: It is to me, moderately. Like intermediate level Sudoku; but I have no illusions that what I do is of interest to anyone else. Even among specialists I'm something of functionary, but without ambition, or even hope of ambition. I plateaued in grad school then lost interest except in maintaining a base salary adequate to financing a low overhead subsistence.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Salt/Get Low/Ramona and Beezus/Life During Wartime (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Excerpts from the original motion picture Score to Happiness
      Composed by Robbie Kondor

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    FAQ

    • How long is Life During Wartime?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 2010 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Werc Werk Works
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Todd Solondz Project
    • Filming locations
      • Puerto Rico
    • Production company
      • Werc Werk Works
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $281,447
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $30,507
      • Jul 25, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $807,162
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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