Directed By B.J Novak

Starring – B.J Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Issa Rae

The Plot – A radio host (Novak) from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.

Rated R for adult language and brief violence

VENGEANCE – Official Trailer – In Theaters July 29 – YouTube

POSITIVES

In his debut directorial effort for the big screen, Novak conjures up a caustic wit and southern hospitality that works particularly well with the air of insightful social commentary that he continuously serves up by the slice. It’s a film that is about many things, but ideally the inception of myths, and how they come to be in the mentalities of people with little to no facts to back up their claims. This offers an especially intriguing concept in 2022 because you don’t have to look far to see how this rubs off in an age where more news isn’t exactly what’s best for a country as divided as ours, but when articulated within the confines of a murder mystery transcribes the manufacturing process from the very root of how it gets exaggerated from one person to the next. This isn’t to say that all claims are bare in the mind of Novak, quite the opposite actually; instead, he depicts these Southern characters with their own aspects of redeeming qualities, in turn forcing his Yankee protagonist to seek his own internal epiphany to see with his eyes wide open for the first time. Novak himself leads a stellar ensemble with his own brand of dry deliveries and articulate vocabulary that cuts down anyone in his opposition with vicious rhetoric, and when combined with the warmth and lovable charms of Holbrook at his side for a majority of the film, cements an infectious brotherly dynamic with its own abundance of lost in translation moments between them. Ashton Kutcher also makes a surprising appearance and damn near steals the show as a euphoric music producer with his own profound outlooks on life, in turn sending the film off on a poetically philosophical road that prescribes depth to the narrative, until the ride becomes bumpy during a questionable third act. Aside from the performances, the technical merits are equally inviting, with spellbinding cinematography from Lyn Moncrief luminating the beauty and serenity of west Texas, and the complexities of the sound design occasionally echoing an authenticity factor to the immersiveness of podcasts, with a crisp, concisely close proximity to the influence of the actors delivering a faithful plunge to the depths of social media airwaves. On the subject of that dialogue, it is easily my favorite quality to “Vengeance” and Novak’s writing because it often constructs several fish out of water scenarios where a big city boy is made to feel like an idiot in a town he previously judged with preconceived prejudice. The gags themselves are mostly seen in the trailer, unfortunately, but 90% of the film maintains a smooth black comedy tone that works effortlessly alongside the darkness of these events inside of the plot, giving birth to an environment that is every bit ironic as it is dangerous for all of the same qualities that influence each.

NEGATIVES

This film works when its commentary lingers more towards the sociological disconnect of people during the technological age, and less when it transitions its second half towards a philosophical discussion that often gets the better of the material in more ways than one. This makes the climax of the film underwhelming in many ways, but especially the reveal of the twist being conjured without that major mic dropping moment that made the journey worth the time leading up to this discovery. Because of such, I was left with a disappointment not only in the who, but also in the how, deducing its once abundance of possibilities to a conflict that is a bit too simplistic to ever feel like it blends seamlessly to the depths of the movie’s unforeseen spirituality. In addition to this, I felt many of the supporting cast were wasted in the brief execution of their various influences, but especially Issa Rae and Dove Cameron, who each were supplanted a deeper significance that is continuously hinted at, yet strangely never explored. For Cameron, one such scene conveys an internal struggle lingering from within her, but it’s never followed through to show meaning in what Abilene’s death means to her or the rest of the family, due to what I can only interpret is a creative laziness to flesh each of their dispositions out in the confines of this limited script. This also brings me to the biggest problem of the film, the pacing, in which the first two acts float by within the charms of spontaneity and chance, and the final act submerges itself forcefully to a grinding halt with explanations so heavy handed that they completely transform the authentic qualities of the storytelling. The mystery should be the most fascinating aspect of the film, but it’s often the one that creates the most problems, leading to a long-winded conclusion that, like the podcast mentioned in context, just kind of fizzles out without the memorable boom that should be felt hours after the experience subsides.

OVERALL
The biggest surprises to B.J Novak’s “Vengeance” isn’t in its storytelling, but rather the monumental depth to its invigorating social commentary, which cements it as a dated film by 2022 standards, but for all of the right reasons. Though the inferior second half does flounder away a lot of the momentum with an underwhelming twist and supporting resolution, the big city cynicism permeating inside of a small-town crime noir wins out, leaving us with a deconstruction of humanity deep in the heart of Texas.

My Grade: 7/10 or B