3 out of 5

Director: Todd Solondz

Any director, writer, etc. with a notable style to their work generally has a theme which emerges over the course of their career. Occasionally they forever build to the perfect representation of their theme, and sometimes they make it early on and then hack away at variations or repetitions after this. This is not a bad thing – having a common feeling or theme can be why we return to certain artists – and, after all, there are only a few basic plot concepts that are just shaded in millions of ways via the millions of creating hands / brains. And thus Todd Solondz forever exploration of the discomfort and discrepancies of and between human wants and desires. Life During Wartime is absolutely the most mature film of his career. It has a couple of those Solondz moments, but it is otherwise rather patient and somber, and an appropriately aged companion piece to the schizo Happiness. I dont think it has a lot of gravity, though, and is better viewed as a piece of Solondz career than as a standalone film. But perhaps I have it backwards. Anyone familiar with the director will recognize the concepts and acting style, but will perhaps be surprised by the maturity. Anyone unfamiliar will probably be curious as to the overall intention. Either way, this seems like a nice conclusion to a theme, and perhaps will allow Todd to expand onto even greater things.