Review: St. Vincent

Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy Share the Screen in This Unexpected Comedy-Drama

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: October 24, 2014 – U.S.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Running Time: 102 minutes

Director: Theodore Melfi

Writer: Theodore Melfi

Cast: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, 

Naomi Watts, Chris O'Dowd, 

Terrence Howard, Jaeden Lieberher  

Who living among us right now would qualify for sainthood? It's a good question asked by Brother Geraghty (Chris O'Dowd), a priest who teaches at a Brooklyn Catholic school. The least likely candidate, of course, would be Vincent McKenna (Bill Murray). He's a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, compulsive gambler who frequently gets together with a "lady of the night" (Naomi Watts, complete with a ridiculous but endearing Russian accent). A single mom and her young son, Maggie and Oliver (Melissa McCarthy and Jaeden Lieberher), soon move in next door to Vince – and they have no idea what to make of their new neighbor.

Through a series of events and decisions that could probably only happen in a movie, Vin becomes a very unlikely babysitter for Oliver. The plot and performances both seem to be a step or two removed from reality, but it works because the film never once wavers from that tone – even when the story takes a more serious turn. Indeed, audiences will likely go into "St. Vincent" expecting a comedy, but the second half is unexpectedly dark and dramatic.

Also surprising: Melissa McCarthy, who usually provides the comic relief, plays it straight here. (She does have one scene, though – a meeting with the priests at her son's school – where she delivers perhaps the most hilarious line in the film.) Bill Murray, however, gets to dish out some great zingers throughout.

As you would expect from one of Bill Murray's offbeat characters, Vin isn't the typical babysitter. He teaches the boy how to fight and takes him to a bar and the racetrack. Unfortunately, betting on losing horses has left Vin deeply in debt – and at the mercy of the unsavory Zucko (Terrence Howard, in a small role), who has come to collect.

There are other developments, but those are best left for you to discover.

In most movies, the relationship between the old man and the little boy would be used as a predictable plot device to soften the main character's crusty demeanor – the tried and true formula of a child's wide-eyed innocence and its magical effect on that special crotchety someone – and then everyone lives happily ever after. "St. Vincent" doesn't make that mistake. What it does instead is peel away at Vin's layers to reveal a full-fledged but flawed human being that's more than just a collection of curmudgeonly film stereotypes.

The movie isn't perfect. There are a couple of loose threads – mostly involving Zucko and some money – and it can be slightly over-the-top at certain points. Still, by the time the film takes an emotional turn, these characters have earned our empathy. I felt for them, rooted for them, and wanted them to ultimately be okay.

Saints were originally human beings with their own set of foibles and failings, but as Bill Murray's character demonstrates in "St. Vincent," those obvious faults don't always tell the whole story about who a person actually is.  

Review: Dead Man Down

Rear Window Romance

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: March 8, 2013 – U.S.

Rating: R

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance

Running Time: 118 minutes

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Writer: J.H. Wyman

Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, 

Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, 

Isabelle Huppert, Wade Barrett, 

F. Murray Abraham, Armand Assante

"Dead Man Down" is dark and dour, but it's also nicely shot and well-acted by its two leads, Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace.

I went into this expecting a dumb action movie; instead, it's an interesting meditation on the deep desire for revenge and what that can do to a person's soul.

Victor and Beatrice (Farrell and Rapace) have a bizarre chemistry that hooked me from the beginning. Their relationship works so well that it almost overshadows the main storyline. They're neighbors who admire each other from adjacent apartment balconies, and when they finally do meet, it doesn't go the way you might expect. He's a professional killer but tells her he sells real estate; she's disfigured from a car accident and self-conscious of her scars. They're both damaged in their own way.

Victor's partner-in-crime is Darcy (an excellent Dominic Cooper), a family man whose wife and baby have given him a newfound perspective about the world and the people in it. They work for Alphonse (Terrence Howard), a criminal kingpin who has been receiving threatening packages for the past three months. That mystery is what drives the plot forward.

F. Murray Abraham, Armand Assante, and the great French actress Isabelle Huppert all show up in small supporting roles. Huppert appears in so few American films that it's curious she'd pick this one. She plays Beatrice's mother, a hearing-impaired woman who obsesses over getting her Tupperware back. (In a particularly silly scene, she fumbles for her hearing aids while the people around her plan crimes out of earshot – yeah, that's believable!) It's always nice to see Huppert, but her only purpose in the movie, it seems, is to show that Beatrice still lives with her mom.

WWE wrestler Wade Barrett is also in the cast, but if he's the only reason you want to watch this, don't bother. He barely speaks, and he's unintelligible when he does. His thick English accent is an asset as villain in the ring, but it's a definite drawback here. Mostly, he just stands around and tries to look menacing. Unfortunately, he's ridiculously taller than his co-stars and lurches like an awkward Herman Munster. This is especially evident during the mailbox scene. The charisma and charm he showcases on Monday Night Raw is nowhere to be found in his portrayal of the henchman Kilroy. If he has any potential as an actor, it's impossible to tell based on this role; he's given precious little to work with.

Even though "Dead Man Down" is set in New York, it has a decidedly foreign feel to it. That's likely because it's directed by Niels Arden Oplev, who helmed the original Swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and reunites with its star, Rapace, for this film. Almost everything – from the characters, script, and cinematography – is atypical of the usual American action movie experience. The beginning and ending are unfortunately the exceptions. It starts off like some garish rap video with loud music, fast cuts, and a vomit-tinted green and brown color scheme. I won't spoil the way it ends, but let's just say we've been down this road before. It's a shame because the rest of the movie is unique. The climax isn't bad, per se, just a bit clichéd. It also features some pretty unconvincing special effects.

Farrell and Rapace benefit from wonderful character development, but Terrence Howard remains a paper thin villain. His only function is to be a bad guy and chew up the scenery with his evil ways. He does that well, but it would have been nice if we had gotten to know him a bit better too. His motivations are never clear. Why does he do what he does? In this case, the fault lies with the script (which is fairly effective otherwise), not the actor.

"Dead Man Down" isn't a perfect movie by any means, but it is an interesting one. It's lighter on the action and heavier on the romance than you might expect, but that's okay because Farrell and Rapace make an oddly compelling couple.