Storytelling (2001)

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz

Stars:

Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Robert Wisdom

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Selma Blair	...	Vi (segment "Fiction")
Leo Fitzpatrick	...	Marcus (segment "Fiction")
Robert Wisdom	...	Mr. Scott (segment "Fiction")
Maria Thayer	...	Amy (segment "Fiction")
Angela Goethals	...	Elli (segment "Fiction")
Devorah Rose	...	Lucy (segment "Fiction")
Nancy Anne Ridder	...	Joyce (segment "Fiction")
Steve Rosen	...	Ethan (segment "Fiction") (as Steven Rosen)
Aleksa Palladino	...	Catherine (segment "Fiction")
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Melinda (segment "Fiction")
Tina Holmes	...	Sue (segment "Fiction")
Paul Giamatti	...	Toby Oxman (segment "Non-Fiction")
Mike Schank	...	Mike (segment "Non-Fiction")
Xander Berkeley	...	Mr. DeMarco (segment "Non-Fiction")
Mark Webber	...	Scooby Livingston (segment "Non-Fiction")

Storyline

Storytelling is comprised of two separate stories set against the sadly comical terrain of college and high school, past and present. Following the paths of its young hopeful/ troubled characters, it explores issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | high school | college | documentary filmmaker | high school student | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selma Blair's totally nude sex scene in Storytelling was so graphic that writer-director Todd Solondz had trouble watching it on-set. But Blair told Backstage that she had no problem at all being naked in front of cast and crew. "I'm not the most guarded person, so it doesn't bother me. If anyone wants to see it, go ahead. Usually I don't think they care. The crew is too busy eating a sandwich or something," she laughed.

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Goofs

Length of Scooby's joint when he and Toby first meet.

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Quotes

Mikey Livingston: Wasn't there high school in El Salvador?
Consuelo: We had to work. My family was poor.
Mikey Livingston: It must have been hard being poor.
Consuelo: I am still poor.
Mikey Livingston: But Consuelo... even though you're poor, don't you have any hobbies or interests or anything?
Consuelo: No, Mikey.

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Alternate Versions

After "Storytelling" had been shown in Cannes, Todd Solondz re-edited the film. He removed five minutes from the second segment, and inserted five new minutes.

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

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Soundtracks

Storytelling
Performed by Belle & Sebastian
Written by Belle & Sebastian
Published by Sony ATV Music Publishing
Courtesy of Jeepster Recordings Limited & Matador Records, Inc.

User Reviews

The "Non-fiction" story is the superior fiction.

I was fascinated by Todd Solondz's HAPPINESS, a spell-binding drama every minute of it - sometimes terribly naked. There are such tendencies also in STORYTELLING, but only in the second of the two independent parts.

The first part, called "Fiction", is significantly shorter than part two, "Non-fiction". This is as it should be, but the best would be to exclude it completely. The story about emotional tension between a college girl with ambition to become a writer, her frustrated CP boyfriend and their impressive/monstrous teacher, the successful writer, is just as conventional as the stories the students write in the film. This may be intentional, to cause multiple layers of meta-effects, but it doesn't save this part of the movie from being pretty predictable and boring.

And the story ends before it should. A sort of coitus interruptus (if the term is allowed), which demands some kind of return or closing-up later on in the movie - but there is none. I got the strong impression that this part was only included to make the movie full-time.

The second story, "Non-fiction", is clearly stronger, and told with much more passion from the writer/director. Here, many facets are explored, the characters are complex, the drama intricate - and the tension builds, right below the drab suburban surface. It is impressive how elements common in just about any family life, here add to the suspense and the sense of doom. The thrill of trivial life, but not at all trivially portrayed.

This might be the reason for the title "Non-fiction", since the lives and fates shown in the story feel so real - contrary to what happens in "Fiction".

Still, this story, too, has been told insufficiently, as if abbreviated, or halted at points where it was about to erupt into infernal drama. Pity. Did Solondz retreat from his own vision? Did he censor himself to get more of a general audience?

I hope that it's not the case. His portrayal of human life, although unpleasant indeed, is fascinating and uniquely his. So he must be true to it.

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphania -French site(fr) New Line [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 November 2001 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Untitled Todd Solondz Project

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$73,688, 27 January 2002

Gross USA:

$921,445

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,318,945

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Killer Films, Good Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1