Life During Wartime [Criterion Collection]

Directed by Todd Solondz, this ensemble film tells the tale of a large dysfunctional family. Joy (Shirley Henderson) continues to have problems with her husband, Allen (Michael Kenneth Williams), and looks to her family for advice. A dead former boyfriend (Paul Reubens) continues to try to win her heart from the great beyond. Joy's sister, Trish (Allison Janney), meets a retiree whom she hopes will normalize her chaotic life. A third sister, screenwriter Helen (Ally Sheedy), is full of bitterness toward both her family and her career. Their mother, Mona (Renée Taylor), wants absolutely nothing to do with men. And, ex-con Bill (Ciarán Hinds), Trish's former husband, wants to reconcile with their son. Life During Wartime is a pseudo-sequel to Solondz's Happiness with different actors playing the same characters from that earlier film.