Happiness was one of those quirky sort of films guaranteed to be the darling of indie film festivals the world over. It therefore came as no surprise that it won awards at the British and Canadian Independent Film Festivals as well as at Cannes. It's the disturbing story of three sisters who have the relationships in their lives breakdown to bizarre and sometimes harrowing circumstances. Hoffman, again in a supporting role portrayed Allen, a neighbour of the middle sister, whom he frequently makes obscene phone calls to. Whilst initially an unsavory and slightly warped character, Allen changes when he is spurned by the sister, and sinks into a depression. But his luck changes when he realises the love of another woman has been staring him in the face the whole time. Allen's life is a complicated one, and is something the audience would love to see more of, but his limited time on screen is brought to life brilliantly by Hoffman, who manages to make a mentally unstable pervert seem almost lovable.
