Fascinating film highlights unusual talent

Todd Solondz’s fans know to expect the unusual, and Palindromes (Tartan) doesn’t disappoint.

In this often uncomfortable look at our moral attitudes, the tale is told through the medium of 12-year-old Aviva, who finds herself pregnant.

What makes this a rather strange film is Solondz’s decision to use eight actors to play the part, two of them adults, one a boy, and another a six-year-old girl, some of whom aren’t always called Aviva.

This is even more confusing when the families also change, making the choices somewhat different.

For all that, this remains a fascinating film, best viewed on DVD as you can play over the scenes again, all the better to understand the arguments.