Dark Horse (2011)

Romance blooms between two thirty-somethings in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz

Stars:

Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melisa Young	...	Wedding Singer
Jordan Gelber	...	Abe
Selma Blair	...	Miranda (formerly 'Vi')
Mia Farrow	...	Phyllis
Christopher Walken	...	Jackie
Zachary Booth	...	Justin
Donna Murphy	...	Marie
Tyler Maynard	...	Jiminy
Mary Joy	...	Lori
Peter McRobbie	...	Arnie
Justin Bartha	...	Richard
Aasif Mandvi	...	Mahmoud
Di Quon	...	Waitress
Lee Wilkof	...	Phil
Tara-Lee Pollin	...	Dancing Bride

Storyline

Romance blooms between two thirty-somethings in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.

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Plot Keywords:

quarrel | toy store | backgammon | car driving | driving a car | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2012 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Czarny kon

Filming Locations:

Clinton Diner, Maspeth, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,551 (USA) (8 June 2012)

Gross:

$159,023 (USA) (17 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Double Hope Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Estelle Harris, Jason Alexander and Jerry Stiller were hired to do voice overs for the scenes where Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken sit stone-faced watching an unseen TV sitcom. Todd Solondz felt the "Costanzas" on the TV series "Seinfeld" were a sitcom version of the family he was depicting, but he couldn't afford to use audio clips from "Seinfeld."

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Connections

References Saturday Night Live (1975)

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Soundtracks

"Everything You Need"
Performed by Kate Booye and Jon Estep
Written by Jon-Michael Estep
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

And Down the Stretch He Goes...

Director Todd Solondz returns to the land of melancholy with "Dark Horse," his latest serio-comic look at some of life's semi-lovable losers. I say "semi-lovable" because Solondz's characters often contain a dark streak of 'nasty' inside them, and this nastiness often manifests itself in disturbing ways.

Such is the case with Abe (Jordan Gelber,) a thirty-something man-child still living in the action-figure-adorned bedroom of his parents' home. Abe, who passes most days at his father's office avoiding work while trolling eBay for collectibles, finds himself at a wedding seated next to Miranda, an equally socially-awkward and very possibly damaged woman (Selma Blair.) After one date, Abe proposes to Miranda. Her rationale for accepting his proposal is the funniest and most depressing scene in the film. You find yourself laughing, and then quickly wondering how many people end up getting married for EXACTLY the same reasons as Miranda, without readily admitting it.

Abe's troubles mount as he finds himself having to deal with the ramifications of his rash decision. His parents (the marvelously restrained Christopher Walken and the equally marvelously restrained Mia Farrow) may be the original source of his troubles. His father constantly compares him to his more successful brother. His mother just wants him to accept his perennial-loser status, but she does it in the most kind and loving way.

None of this excuses Abe's selfishness and irrational sense of entitlement. Abe's doubts about his actions take the form of imaginary meetings and conversations with the people frustrating him in his life. (The narrative does get a bit muddled here.) His self-centeredness has devastating consequences, for others, but ultimately for himself. This 'dark horse' is not going to surprise us with a win.

Solondz leads this "Horse" well, but he can't make it drink. He doesn't disappoint, but he doesn't really surprise us either. The performances are uniformly fine. Gelber in particular does a good job of walking the tightrope of character between genuinely unpleasant and sadly unaware. Blair gets credit for playing Miranda as something other than a carbon copy or even a reverse negative image of Abe. Miranda is sadly aware of the pathetic nature of her life, and her bluntness in dealing with it is refreshing.

"Dark Horse" won't have you rolling in the aisles. You'll smile some, chuckle once or twice, and wince a lot. Standard Solondz, but that's better than most.

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