Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 20, 2025

The Guinness Book of World Records reportedly lists the Finnish word saippuakivikauppias as the longest palindrome in "everyday use", which may beg the question for some as to when the last time they used that word, whether or not they may speak Finnish. In any case, palindromes have long been a plaything for a certain type of word obsessed nerd (ahem), and their defining characteristic is of course the fact that they read the same backwards and forwards, which perhaps at least subliminally suggests a certain uniformity. Why, then, would agent provocateur and/or enfant terrible Todd Solondz offer a focal character with a palindromic name (Aviva), but then choose to have her played by eight different performers of widely variant ages and ethnicities? As even an ostensibly supportive supplement included with this release suggests, that conceit tends to be a distancing factor, keeping audiences from ever completely connecting with the character, which then makes her kind of nightmarish journey something of an intellectual exercise despite repeatedly overheated emotions. Palindromes also exists as a kinda sorta sequel to what may still be Solondz's best remembered work, Welcome to the Dollhouse, beginning with (slight spoiler alert) the funeral of Dawn Weiner, who has finally met the sort of tragic end that the film might have hinted was inexorable. That then introduces Dawn's cousin, Aviva (played by Emani Sledge in this particular vignette).

As was mentioned in my Welcome to the Dollhouse Blu-ray review (note the link points to Radiance's Region B release), both Solondz and Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse's Dawn) are both on hand in supplements on that disc trying to come to terms with how widely variant reactions to their collaboration have been, with some people finding the story raucously hilarious and others being almost shocked by the tragic aspects. One might reasonably assume the same spectrum of reactions will accompany any groups watching Palindromes together, and it might even be further reasonable to assume that a single individual may experience moments of both laughter and cringe worthy terror as Aviva's story unfolds.

Despite what is probably more than questionable parenting on the part of the Weiner nuclear family, and by extension their relatives (including Aviva's mother Joyce, played by Ellen Barkin), Aviva (now played by Valerie Shusterov) wants to have a child, and in fact many children. Considering what is revealed to have led to Dawn's demise, rather interestingly Aviva has teenage sex with Judah (Robert Agri) and does indeed become pregnant. Joyce is having none of it, however, and insists that Aviva have an abortion, which is when things start going south in a major way. And in fact, as Joyce shepherds Aviva into an abortion clinic, they're met with fundamentalist types picketing and telling the pair they're going to hell, something that presages later plot developments.

Suffice it to say Aviva (played by a succession of actresses, including in terms of marquee value most notably by Jennifer Jason Leigh) runs away from home and has a series of at least questionable dalliances with various men (and/or boys) with a longer interstitial set of sequences documenting her stay at a kind of Christian cult, which brings with it its own set of "issues". Things potentially get into near gonzo territory when a connection between the cult and one of Aviva's former one night stands ends up leading into a subplot involving the assassination of an abortion provider. What is one to make of all of this, let alone the conceit of a parade of different actresses playing Aviva? It's hard to know, really, and perhaps at least as problematically as trying to "connect" with a character who transforms every few minutes is a really odd set of plot strands Solondz has woven together. The result is disturbing, to say the least, but whatever "meta" element Solondz is suggesting vis a vis having different actresses play the same part, especially one experiencing such a unique set of traumas, frankly escaped me.

Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Palindromes is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The minimal transfer notes in Radiance's insert booklet are as follows:

Palindromes was restored in 2024 by The Museum of Modern Art with approval by Todd Solondz. The film was supplied to Radiance Films by Visit Films as a 4K digital file and is presented in the original aspect ratio.

This is the first 4K UHD release by Radiance Films, and I'm kind of sorry to announce it's one without HDR / Dolby Vision, something that makes this 4K presentation rather similar in many ways to the admittedly excellent 1080 disc also included in this package. It has to be accepted that Solondz is not exactly exploiting any high-falutin' stylized qualities here, and in fact almost goes for a cinéma vérité approach presentationally, albeit within a storyline that becomes increasingly bizarre, and as such HDR might not have changed that much, though I have to say "little" items like the purple intertitles announcing chapters might have gained some new luster. Detail levels are certainly the equal of the 1080 presentation, but I'd frankly struggle to find areas where they're noticeably improved in this version, though if pressed, I'd probably point to some of the more brightly lit outdoor material, including a couple of scenes in a lot of foliage. I will say the increased resolution probably only tends to exaggerate an already thick grain field, one that can quite frequently look on the splotchy side with a lot of yellow. My score above may suggest there's something "wrong" with this 4K presentation, and that's not the case, I'm simply suggesting it isn't hugely different from a perfectly fine 1080 presentation.

Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Palindromes features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which tends to deliver its most noticeable surround activity courtesy of both outdoor scenes where ambient environmental sounds predominate and also a number of kind of wacky source cue and/or diagetic cue choices (the Christian cult loves to sing). As such surround activity definitely ebbs and flows, but the track has appealing fidelity and no issues. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The 4K disc in this package sports no supplements. The 1080 disc has the following bonus items:

• Todd Solondz (HD; 26:17) is interviewed in a Zoom like affair by Hanna Strong.


• Alexander Brickel (HD; 14:14) recounts his experiences as a child actor in the film. This is an audio supplement that plays to scenes from the film, and it comes with a warning about variant audio quality, but I frankly didn't hear anything overly problematic.


• Todd Solondz and His Cinema of Cruelty (HD; 11:58) is an interesting visual essay by Lillian Crawford looking at the darker elements of many Solondz films.


• Trailer (HD; 1:46)

An especially interesting insert booklet is included with both a statement and notes by Todd Solondz where he refutes that his approach is distancing. Three other essays, including two archival pieces from 2005, are included. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and comes with Radiance's trademark Obi strip.

Palindromes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In his statement included in Radiance's insert booklet, Todd Solondz overtly mentions that he was afraid Palindromes would come off as an "intellectual exercise", and I have to say that's pretty much exactly how it struck me. This is a provocative tale one way or the other, and fans of Welcome to the Dollhouse may find it of particular interest. While per my above assessment this 4K presentation may not significantly improve the 1080 presentation, the 1080 presentation is generally great looking, and Radiance has assembled some nice supplements, for anyone considering making a purchase.