David Edelstein at Slate has a nice take on the new movie, Palindromes (“just another Todd Solondz movie,” he says), suggesting it deserves its own rating—not recommended for persons depressed or suicidal. I was struck by his conclusion: “Palindromes is a thesis movie, almost a manifesto for despair, and certainly worthy of the aforementioned NR-DS rating. Except that its bad vibes don't linger. Have dinner and smart conversation with friends, hug a child, pick up a good book—and poof, life returns with a happy vengeance.”
Good thing. There’s a new child in our home and I'm coming to conclusions that probably occurred to our publisher a decade or two ago. Some philosophies are simply not viable in the presence of a three-month-old baby. And as my wife just said, "despair is self-indulgent."