Product Details

• Actors: Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Jordan Gelber, Donna Murphy
• Directors: Todd Solondz
• Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Virgil Films and Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 13, 2012
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B008ZQ4W5U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,290 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Solondz's most waywardly endearing film, his gentlest triumph..." --Richard Corliss, TIME

"Solondz brilliantly -- triumphantly -- transforms what might have been an exercise in easy satirical cruelty into a tremendously moving argument for the necessity of compassion." --A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"We feel contempt. We feel pity. We shudder and identify. It is a vortex drawing us down into dark defeat and yet admitting glimmers of hope." --Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

Product Description

In his mid-30s, Abe (Jordan Gelber) clings to the trappings of his adolescence, including the extensive collection of toys and action figures adorning his boyhood bedroom. 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. His older brother Richard's (Justin Bartha) success as a California doctor only feeds Abe's resentment and rage at his family over his failures.

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. Abe throws himself into pursuing the overmedicated Miranda, convincing her to marry him after a whirlwind courtship. But, 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.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing. Hillarious. Thoughtfull. Better than The Master. September 23, 2012

By Chad Withers

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

Yeah I said it. I enjoyed this more than The Master which I saw on the same day as this. The Master was beautiful in many ways but this movie leaves you with so much more. Justin Bartha deserves an Oscar nomination for bringing this miserable character to life with out making him annoying or any more ridiculous than he needed to be. Donna Murphy was also incredible and deserves all the supporting actress awards that will be bestowed upon others.

No one makes movies like Todd Solondz. One of the only true independent filmmakers out there. Shoe string budget, unconventional storytelling, great performances and respect for the audience. Check this out while you have the chance. I would love to see more films like this (that are only released in a handful of cities) receive the accessibility and cost effectiveness of the digital format. Doesn't replace seeing it in the theater but if you live in bum-f*** Utah this might be your only shot.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NO CREDIT, NO EXCHANGE, NO REFUND December 3, 2012

By Michael TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

There is nothing like getting two dysfunctional people together to create a successful quirky indie. What I liked about this film more than many of the others in this genre such as "Jack Goes Boating" or "Greenberg" is that I felt comfortable laughing at the plight of the main characters.

Abe (Jordan Gelber) works for his dad and lives at home with his parents (Mia Farrow/ Christopher Walken). He still collects toys and hasn't reached his maturity potential. He lives in the shadow of his successful brother (Justin Bartha). At a wedding, Abe meets Miranda (Selma Blair) a shy, overly medicated woman once married to Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi). Abe is supported by his secretary (Donna Murphy) who becomes his imaginary conscience.

The setting takes place somewhere in New Jersey between Eagles and Giants country. The title "Dark Horse" is a reference to Abe. His dad likes dark horses. i.e. like the old days when the Giants would lose, but cover the point spread. Abe proposes to Miranda on their second meeting, which she ponders over in her medicated state which is apt for the tone of the film:

Miranda: "I want to want you."
Abe: "That's enough for me."

I liked the toy details and shirt selection of Abe. Indie movies pay attention to background details. Although I would have to ask Todd Solondz (writer, director) what real toy collector would remove the Gimli Toybiz figurine from its pack? The "Toys R Us" store logo is blurred out, apparently there being some legal issue. The film gave me a few laughs, worth a view for indie fans. Acting was great.

If you don't like Indie films based on quirky characters with little action, then this is not for you.

Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Different Direction from Todd Solondz November 17, 2012

By Joshua Miller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

Dark Horse is the latest film from Todd Solondz and is a markedly different animal from his previous films. It still maintains his misanthropic spirit but it's lacking much of the provocative material that so often brings attention to his work. That's not to say Dark Horse isn't provocative; it just shows Solondz at his most gentle and forgiving.

Solondz has long had a knack for great opening scenes and this is no exception. Abe (Jordan Gelber), an overweight and balding man, sits at a wedding next to Miranda (Selma Blair). He begins hitting on her, completely unaware of her disinterest. Following her outside, he asks for her phone number and seems oblivious to her obvious reluctance to give it. From here Abe goes home and we see he epitomizes arrested development. He lives with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow) in a room filled with action figures, he works for his father but brings nothing to the company, he blames all of his problems on the failings of others; he hates his brother Richard (Justin Bartha), a successful doctor, feeling that he received special attention that Abe didn't. In one scene he reacts childishly after trying and failing to return an action figure that has a scratch mark on it. Despite her obviously medicated state, Abe attempts to court Miranda and eventually asks her to marry him. Meanwhile, whether real or imagined, Abe is often confronted by Marie (Donna Murphy) a much older co-worker at his father's company, who warns Abe of his potentially disastrous decision making.

Much of Dark Horse seems to function in and out of reality and fantasy.... Solondz works this creatively to his benefit in one sequence where Abe goes to a store that is clearly Toys "R" Us, but the logo is blurred out (probably due to companies being skeptical of allowing their trademarks in his films). Essentially the film is a coming-of-age story told from Solondz's skewed point of view where, of course, no one actually comes of age. It's his most straight-forward, "friendly" filmmaking effort and the first to really contain a glimmer of hope. Solondz writes the most despicable characters and he seems to take glee in seeing how despicable he can make them. In Dark Horse he seems to like his characters and even sympathize with them. It's a testament to his own ability as writer/director and the acting of Gelber that Abe is made into a tragic character that we actually empathize with as the film progresses. Walken also impresses, in a more subdued role than he's inhabited in some time reminding us that he is an actor capable of subtlety.

While overall much different from Solondz's typical fare, it still solidifies him as an artist at crafting awkwardness and characters who are astoundingly dysfunctional in social situations. It's his most conventional film with many of his familiar themes explored without the dour characters and subject matter. Of course it's still peppered with his penchant for irony and finding the absurdity in real life. If it fails to be as brilliant as his other works it's because it's too simplistic; lacking in the dark complexities of his previous films. It's an impressive display of his range as a filmmaker, but falls short of being a masterpiece. Regardless, Dark Horse is a film that deserves the attention of those who have admired Solondz over the years and even those who gave up trying. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Horse October 8, 2012

By Paul F. Gordon

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

I liked this film. It reminded me of Solondz film "Storytelling." I like the characters and I like the way they all have faults, some of them more severe than others. It's too bad this film didn't get a wider thearical release. It only stayed in San Diego one week, and I couldn't make it that week. I'm looking forward to purchasing the blu-ray when it is released.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT MOVIE!!!!!!!! November 24, 2012

By Gabriel Goss

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

AWESOME!!!!!!!! my favorite film of the year so so so so good i can't wait to buy it and watch it a million times!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, entertaining, but ultimately simplistic and contradictory in its message. October 4, 2012

By James C. Stoltz

Format:Amazon Instant Video

I'm conflicted about this movie. On the one hand Todd Solondz is one of my favorite directors, his movies are intelligent and they always make you think. Dark Horse was no exception, I find myself thinking about it long after I've watched it. It's a sign of a great film when it can make you do that.

But as entertaining and stimulating as I found Dark Horse to be, I completely disagree with its overall message. Dark Horse addresses the trend in our modern society that young men are moving out at later ages. I think this complex issue is simplified in the film. There is no mention of the current economic situation or the fact that we've had a very high unemployment rate for going on six years. Indeed the unemployment situation is so bad that it's looking like this could turn into a "lost decade". Nor does the film address the systematic bias that schools today have developed against men, and why so many more women are going to college today than men. Schools are feminine places run by women, and over the years they've taken away things like dodge-ball for example and have started punishing boys for being boys. There's also a lot more grants and scholarship opportunities for women.

The character of Abe is such an unrealistic figure who you'd never see in the real world. What makes him so unrealistic is that he is staying at home because he CHOOSES to. Abe has a wealthy family, a good job, and supportive parents. He drives a $50,000 Hummer. This is directly in contrast to us men living with our parents in real life. Most of us WANT to move out, but we can't because we're poor and we can't find jobs. If most of us men in this situation were even wealthy enough to own a Hummer like Abe, we would rather move out and sleep in the Hummer then stay living at home.... And none of us have parents that are as supportive as Abe's, that was so unrealistic how his parents kept throwing money at him, hooked him up with an awesome job, and even offered to help pay for his house, and yet he was still living at home. Most of us in this situation are not getting any support like that. I'd venture to say that most young men living at home are actually paying their parents money for rent instead of vice versa.

This is a movie that was written by a rich old person who doesn't understand what it's like to be a young man in modern day society. Solondz has no idea, back when he was our age you could get a gallon of gasoline for a quarter and wages were so high that a fry cook could afford to save up for a house.

Abe is portrayed as a failure partly because he doesn't have a college degree. Yet, what does it say about society, that everyone HAS To get a college degree now or they're worthless? Librarians have to get college degrees now! Soon, even janitors and cashiers will have to have college degrees. "Oh, you're trying to become a janitor? you need to go a degree in Janitorial Science!" It's ridiculous, whatever happened to apprenticeships and learning on the job? And most of the people who have college degrees don't even remember most of the stuff they learned in college!

But Dark horse doesn't touch on any of these issues. It oversimplifies things to the point where it's comedic in it's oversimplification. The messages of the film are two-fold. The fist one is "if you live at home you're a failure", the second one is "men who live at home do so because they're lazy and immature". The film really does make it as simple as that.

Not only were the messages simple, but they were also contradictory and poorly thought out. For example, Abe is criticized for his toy collecting, with the film saying "toy collecting is a pathological response in a society of consumer capitalism", yet Abe is also criticized for not buying his own house. Isn't the fact that everyone has to go out and buy their own big house by the age of 30 more of a pathology of capitalism than toy collecting is?

I guess the biggest question this film left me pondering is "what defines success"? The film's idea of success is clear, if you, like Abe's brother Richard, get a college degree and move out, you are a "successful front runner". Never mind the fact that Richard works as a doctor overcharging and exploiting sick people in order to obtain that "success". By contrast, if you don't get a college degree and live at home, no matter how nice and funny of a person you may be, you are a "dark horse that failed". And if you collect toys you're also a failure because you are a "pathological capitalist", Never mind that many would say the obsessive focus on status symbols like home ownership are also pathologies of capitalism.

If anything, watching and contemplating Dark Horse, with its staggering oversimplifications, has made me believe the direct opposite of what the intended message was. Read more ›