Happiness (1998 film)
| Happiness | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster by Daniel Clowes | |
| Directed by | Todd Solondz |
| Written by | Todd Solondz |
| Produced by | Ted Hope Christine Vachon |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Maryse Alberti |
| Edited by | Alan Oxman |
| Music by | Robbie Kondor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Good Machine Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Russian |
| Budget | $2.2 million |
| Box office | $5.7 million |
Happiness is a 1998 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Jane Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Louise Lasser, Jon Lovitz, Camryn Manheim, Rufus Read, and Cynthia Stevenson. The film revolves around the lives of three sisters (Adams, Boyle, and Stevenson), their parents (Gazzara and Lasser), their lovers (Baker, Harris, and Lovitz), and others around them (Ashley, Hoffman, Manheim, and Read). The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for "its bold tracking of controversial contemporary themes, richly-layered subtext, and remarkable fluidity of visual style," and the cast received the National Board of Review award for best ensemble performance.
The film spawned the pseudosequel Life During Wartime, which premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.