(Cert 15, 100mins): Starring Emanie Sledge, Rachel Corr, Shayna Levine, Hannah Freiman, Valerie Shusterov, Will Denton, Sharon Wilkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ellen Barkin, Richard Masur, Debra Monk. Directed by Todd Solondz.

Todd Solondz is unquestionably one of the most brilliant and dazzlingly original writer-directors currently working in the American independent scene.

His deeply disturbing character studies Welcome To The Dollhouse, Happiness and, most recently, Storytelling cut so close to the bone, they expose the painfully raw emotion and twisted desires at the very marrow of modern society.

But with his latest work, the nightmarish fairytale Palindromes, the cult filmmaker's reach may have finally exceeded his grasp.

He has cast eight different actors of varying ages, races and sizes in the role of his 13-year-old protagonist, often switching between the performers from one scene to the next.

Aviva (Sledge, Corr, Levine, Freiman, Shusterov, Denton, Wilkins, Jason Leigh) becomes pregnant after an unsatisfying fumble with her cousin.

She wants to keep her baby but her parents (Masur, Barkin) demand she has an abortion. The operation goes wrong, leaving her unable to have children.

Caught in an emotional maelstrom, Aviva runs away from home and ends up seeking shelter with the devout Mama Sunshine (Monk) and her deranged Christian flock.

It seems Solondz is challenging the notion that cinema-goers must be able to relate to a character to find them sympathetic.

As intellectual experiments go, this is extreme and constantly changing between actors was too distracting, alienating the audience. That said, Solondz crafts some unforgettable scenes.

Fans should seek out this film but the uninitiated venture into this dark realm at their peril.