Storytelling is the latest film written and directed by Todd Solondz (of Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness fame - or shame). It is told by way of two asymmetrical stories, 'Fiction' and 'Non-fiction'. The themes of both 'stories' is the tendency that narrative has to warp, hurt and use. The film is vague about the ethics, so as never to give the audience an easy answer, forcing us to delve into the film and find our own answers in such a way that no two audience members with the same conclusion. One of the most unusual things here is the humour. It has you laughing when you shouldn't and not laughing when you wish you could.
This is a manipulative movie about manipulation. 'Fiction' is about the humiliation of Vi (Blair) by her creative writing teacher Mr. Scott (Wisdom), the centre of the story being a sex-scene filled with gasps of humour. 'Non-fiction' is a film about Toby Oxman's (Giamatti) filming of Scooby Livingston (Webber) for his documentary 'American Scooby'. This weaves several sub-plots around Scooby's family, his life and their suburbanism. Overall this film leaves you happy to have seen it, but you may not have enjoyed it all. I highly recommend it as something you really shouldn't miss.