Dark Horse

Synopsis

Writer and director Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, Life During Wartime) examines the irretrievability of youth and the mercilessness of time passing in Dark Horse. In his mid-30s, Abe (Jordan Gelber) clings to the trappings of his adolescence. Still living with his parents Jackie (Christopher Walken) and Phyllis (Mia Farrow), Abe works for his increasingly disappointed Dad and spends evenings ruthlessly trouncing his Mom at backgammon. When Abe meets Miranda (Selma Blair), whose personal and professional disasters have sent her scrambling back to the safety of her parents' suburban home, he sees what he thinks is a chance at true love. As the couple haltingly prepares to start a new life together, the film swerves into Abe's subconscious, where his crippling self-doubt and dark fears begin to undermine his nearly realized dream of a fuller life.