She doesn’t much look like Heather Matarazzo, but it’s okay because she’s Greta Gerwig.
The actress is taking over Matarazzo’s breakout role of Dawn Weiner (don’t blame Solondz for the recasting, this is how he rolls) in WEINER-DOG, and above, you can see how she compares to the more thick-eyebrowed, dark-haired original character. We'll have to wait and see if Matarazzo-Weiner's consistently rejected, delusional demeanor has lasted through adulthood.
Weiner’s story is only one of a few plotlines of the film, but I’m curious to see how Solondz handles the fact that PALINDROMES made it perfectly clear that Weiner killed herself in college. He usually doesn’t retcon his films, even in LIFE DURING WARTIME where he completely recasted his HAPPINESS characters. Did Dawn fake her own death? Did her family disown her and stage the funeral because of her pregnancy? Or (most likely), will we be asked to simply ignore the opening scene of PALINDROMES?
Regardless, Weiner was an excellent character that kickstarted both Matarazzo and Solondz’ careers, and I’m excited to see her all growns up, even if she looks totally different and is just one of several main characters. With a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Brie Larson, Zosia Mamet, Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, and Danny DeVito, I can’t say I’m dreading exploring the other corners of Solondz’ latest look at the dark underbelly of suburban New Jersey.
