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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

ST. VINCENT - A New Film Report

Have you ever stood up after a movie-- where you have laughed a bit and choked up a little bit as well-- and then you slowly sense an empty range of feelings from having been duped by the way the film was produced-- to a hunch that it wasn't great? There's no question that a director can pull a small bit of wool over our eyes with movie scenes that may be sincere but don't stand the test of real film honesty. Such is how I looked at the overall effect of St. Vincent.
It's a cute tale-- written and directed by Theodore Melfi-- that gives us a down-to-earth look at how a mean, aged, gruffy, reclusive, broke guy named Vincent-well-acted by Bill Murray-- becomes a bitter babysitter to a young boy--well-acted by Jaeden Lieberher - who has just moved next door. He's Oliver, and he requires supervision after school-thanks to the long hours his mom, Maggie-- who's well-played by Melissa McCarthy- is obliged to put in. Maggie is up against the world. She is a single-mom who has just moved to this part of Brooklyn-- after leaving a husband that's suing her for divorce. She's forced to make enough money to keep her and her son free from her lawyer-husband's threats to take the boy away from her.
The relationship that develops between her son and Vincent is skewed at best. It is unorthodox; and no sitter should use Vincent as a model sitter. Although he likes the cash (she pays him) to help pay his gambling debts, Vincent isn't obligated to change his errant day's schedule. That means cruising to the race track, hitting a couple of bars and paying Oliver to mow a dirt yard that he is too lazy to deal with. He seems to take smug pride educating young Oliver, his understudy, in the whys and wherefores of race track betting; and when the boy advocates trifecta (odds at eighty to one) they become rich like magic toads.
I did learn one thing that could prove valuable-if I ever win a large sum betting at a race track. (I'll pass it on to you). Say you win five thousand dollars. You should never let on to anyone near you. Rather than shout and jump high up and down in ecstasy, just start crying out how miserable you have become. Act as if what you've bet: Fate robbed you of winning. Then you have to scoot over to a window to claim your winnings and forthwith dash out of the track into your car. All of these cool actions will save you from any predators that might want to steal that money from you if they suspect you have won.
Further roles in this film are filled with competent actors. Naomi Watts-under the Russian name Dako-plays a pregnant prostitute who turns a few quick tricks for Vincent after her regular job is done. When Vincent is asked by Oliver, what line of work she's into, he's simply told she's a woman of the night. To an eleven year old kiddo, she has to be someone who does some work at night. If you want to see a stripper (who is pregnant) do a pole dance in a night club, then here's your chance to witness it.
Oliver commences attending a Catholic school as soon as he and his mom settle in their new house. As would be expected, he is bullied by bigger boys; and Vincent does give him strict instructions in the art of punching an opponent's nose so a quantity of blood comes pouring out.
Chris Dowd does a great job playing Brother Geraghty as Oliver's main teacher. It is Brother Geraghty who assigns the students the task of coming up with a person in their lives who might rightly be called a saint. I won't ruin the film (?) - as if you wouldn't guess who might be Oliver's sainthood choice.
Throughout this film we are shown a Vincent who is run down... Everything about him is meant to appall us. He's the kind of guy you wouldn't want sitting down on your couch in your living room. You might not want him drinking from a glass you use for guests. If he asked you to use any part of your restroom, you would become uneasy. (And that wouldn't faze him.) Yet Oliver did sleuth-research on Vincent and found out what he had done in life that made him seem almost worthy. I guess a little boy of eleven can see brave qualities that make up for piles of degrading ones. I thought all of this was sincere, but when the film finished, I had an inkling I'd been manipulated.
When we have to "plug in" value and redemption to make up for the lack of it being done for us, I cry, 'Foul!' We shouldn't have to say to ourselves, "Aw, that's nice!" Our minds and hearts should be nurtured by the progress of the film to where there's no choice. That's the job of the director. He needs to have that height of sensitivity where he can draw us along-and fill our expectations where we arrive at a spot we did not anticipate, which nevertheless does satisfy our feelings. I know, I know. That's hard to do. But until a film like this can do that - whether Bill Murray plays in it or not - I have to give it a grade of SEVEN MINUS. (Of course, that's good enough to see.)
What My Grade Grants:
8.) "About as good as it could get."
7.) "Lacking that bit of excellence."
6.) "Somehow it just didn't work well."
5.) "I have to feel bad about it."
4.) "All that work and nothing to show."
Creator of "The Wizard's Outrageous Scheme For Stopping Smoking" Humbler Acts reports one film every week as relaxation from his speaking and writing on stopping smoking through dream use and Seven Forces. He's American, English-educated, residing in St. Louis, MO (USA). He can be reached: humbleracts@aol.com or telephone: 314-574-7681.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8776265

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