Palindromes (**1/2)

Director Todd Solondz's films are not for everyone. He, for some reason or another, has a fascination/fixation with child molestors and pedophiles. Having said that, his latest film is one that sticks with you. It follows the character of Aviva, a teenage girl who more than anything else wants to get pregnant because then she'll always have someone to love. Aviva is played by eight different actresses throughout the course of the movie. On screen, this plays less annoying than it sounds. Solondz's sense of humor, on full display here, is dry and morbid, and definitely odd. There is a scene where a bunch of kids, with physical and/or mental abnormalities, dance and sing a Christian pop tune about Jesus. It is choreographed, and they even wear the little head mics. Part of me wanted to laugh, the other part wanted to cringe. You may feel the same. The themes in this movie are heavy: abortion, religion, identity in America. While I give Solondz credit for tackling them, I didn't come away from the movie quite knowing what he wanted to say exactly. An interesting and entertaining, yet ultimately flawed independent film.