domitable spirit that eventually makes the character lovable. Her performance is mesmerizing and unforgettable.
Solondz emphasizes his thematic concerns by focusing the narrative almost entirely on Dawn. She is in every scene except four, and each one without her is strikingly important. The first, which introduces her younger sister, Missy, and her older brother, Mark, is important to setting the context in which she lives. The camera begins with a shot of Missy, in her typical pink ballerina outfit, dancing lightly across the suburban front yard. The camera pans left to show the source of the discordant music to which she is dancing: Mark's garage band, working their way through their first rehearsal of what is supposed to be a rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." After this glimpse of her siblings, Solondz returns the focus to Dawn.
The second scene is a brief encounter at the front door when Missy tells Ralphy that Dawn cannot come out since she is
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