Happiness is a tough watch and not necessarily a visual extravaganza, but the Criterion Collection 4K UHD is a good set. A ‘90s indie means it was still shot on film, so you can see the grain. It looks at least like it did at my college indie theater, maybe a bit sharper and brighter.
The most notable 4K scene is Dylan Baker’s confession to his son in the dark living room. The shadow holds up, akin to the material they’re discussing.
It is amusing that in a movie about pedophilia, suicide, obscene phone calls, rape and murder, the most dated element is that Philip Seymout Hoffman uses the phone book to make his calls. And I guess he’s calling from a landline too. And there’s a Tamagachi at the end, so welcome back to the ‘90s!
A new 40 minute Todd Solondz interview makes me curious about the Welcome to the Dollhouse sitcom whose development he approved. How far did that get? He also discusses working with child actors and this material. It sounds like they were at just the right age to perform but not fully get what it was about.
14 minutes with Baker has him discuss the issue of sympathizing with the character and the extent of the research he did. Most striking is his reaction to the title because it was untitled when they filmed it.