After the failure of Todd Solondz’s debut with “Fear, Anxiety & Depression”, the filmmaker would take revenge in the American independent film circuit with the success of “Welcome To The Dollhouse”, a scathing satire to American high schools. The film is an original coming of age, focusing on the character of Dawn, a girl who suffers from constant bullying at school and at home, but who, through her persistence, can counteract her fears and insecurities. The film is also a portrait of a suburban middle class, and shows an ungraceful, ugly America, happy with their normal lives, in which everyone ends up trying to survive. (DR)