agmtw logo
search
Happiness (1998)

Happiness (1998)

NC-17

A disturbing must-watch about the evasiveness of happiness

7.0

Movie

United States of America
English, Russian
Comedy, Drama
1998
TODD SOLONDZ
Ann Harada, Anne Bobby, Arthur J. Nascarella
139 min

What it's about

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

The take

Happiness is a difficult, disturbing watch. Unlike films that claim to be brave, Happiness actually goes there and shows us just how deep, dark, and perverse our urges can get. But far from being controversial for the sake of it, this fearless film has important things to say about the facade of happiness, the urgency of loneliness, and the futility of feigning ignorance about both. And it does so with an impressively wry humor delivered by a talented cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Dylan Baker. They play their complicated characters so well, they'll have you thinking about the strange ways you can, in fact, relate to them on some level, long after the credits roll. 

This isn't a film you'll want to revisit often, but you will have to see it at least once in a lifetime—if anything, for the kind of painful honesty you’ll rarely find anywhere else.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Once Were Warriors (1994)

A Maori family survives in an alienating Auckland in this raw, tragic drama

8.0

Silenced (2011)

A brutal and harrowing exposé of the schoolwide abuse case that sparked outrage in Korea

9.0

My Old Ass (2024)

A pleasant mix of comedy and coming-of-age that may or may not leave you in tears

8.0

Being Julia (2004)

A middle age crisis leads to a star finding her spark in this insightful comedy

7.1

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore swaps bodies in this standout chaotic body dysmorphia horror

8.3

Look Back (2024)

Art connects people through time and space in this short and sweet drama

9.0

The President (2014)

A dictator and his grandson try to escape the revolution in this bleak, satiric drama

7.3

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)

A gangster’s son finds a new way of living in this intense, piano-playing neo-noir

7.6

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.