Vengeance

It's a current-day mystery with ironic and humorous edges set in rural West Texas. It follows an elitist writer/podcaster from the New Yorker magazine who looks into the overdose death of a woman he hooked up with a few times.

Ben Manalowitz (B. J. Novak) is A New Yorker writer and aspiring podcaster who lives the life of hooking up at bars multiple times a week and engages in empty intellectual banter with friends. One night he gets a distraught call from Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook) from West Texas, saying that his girlfriend, Abilene (Lio Tipton), has died. Ben remembers hooking up with her a few times and finally agrees to come to her funeral since the family believes it was a close relationship.

The film follows his interaction with the family when he learns they all believe that Abilene's overdose death was not accidental. Ben stays with the family, feeling the family seeks a kind of vengeance by believing in a murder myth. We meet the Shaw family, which includes Ty's two remaining sisters, a younger brother, Mother Sharon (J. Smith-Cameron), and Granny (Louanne Stephens). Initially, he writes them off as rural rubes but comes to understand things are more complex than he first imagined. He also meets a music producer, Quinten Sellers (Ashton Kutcher), who spouts theories on life's meaning that intrigue Ben.

Ben interviews the drug dealer, the family suspects, and the four law enforcement agencies that had jurisdiction in where Abilene's body was found. A couple of abrupt plot twists at the movie's end influence the podcast, Ben's self-understanding, and shift the film's concept of vengeance.

I was very taken by the film. The characters that initially seem one-dimensional become more complex as the story unfolds. I didn't see the ending coming. B. J. Novak was excellent as the smug Eastern snob who learns a lot about himself. I thought there were some false notes with Ashton Kutcher's character, but overall I thought the storyline worked.

I will always appreciate and admire a film that is very clearly the singular creative vision of one person.

BJ Novak clearly had some things he wanted to say, and this film often feels like it was his outlet for venting his thoughts about humanity.

There's a lot of philosophical dialogue where characters disclose their feelings about relationships, regret, isolation, morality, etc. It's a film that covers so much thematic ground that I have to praise it for how far it reaches.

The film succeeds in being thought-provoking on so many occasions and the story is surprisingly heartwarming. I think the central idea upon which everything else hinges is that connection is what breeds caring. If you don't care about someone it's because you don't feel connected to them-not necessarily because you're different.

Unfortunately, with ambition also comes a scatterbrained tone in this case. There are so many jarring tonal shifts between comedy, dark drama, and ponderous dialogue. This also makes for a plot that feels all over the place and often directionless.

So many times throughout this story I didn't even really know what the movie was about because the characters' goals kept changing so often.

This is a strange piece of work, but it's a creative and original one. Please go check this out in a theater if you can.

This movie was really amusing to me and, I imagine, people who have a similar background.

I grew up in Suburban Texas, just outside of the major city of Dallas. Most all of our extended family lived another 20 miles out in rural towns. I loved visiting them, learning a different way of life, and the tribal isms that help build stereotypes of Texans and the South in general. Even as an adult, when I return from a trip visiting my extended family, my coworkers say I sound like my Texas accent got a boost.

I love Novak's take on coming into a culture that's similar but foreign. The little things that are universal across all Texas, and the things that are unique to small rural towns.

I don't want to give up anything in the review other than to say give it a chance and if you don't like it, bless your heart.

After watching the movie, I was really surprised to see that the movie was not rated more highly by viewers and critics. I think part of the problem with its low rating is that it requires a lot of thinking about society and the way society works, which is very philosophical. That's hard to do, and that knocks out a lot of people, causing their eyes to glaze over in parts of the movie. Hence, a lot of people enjoyed the movie, but the sociology of 2022 in America is not their bag, so the movie got a moderately good rating overall and not a rating of excellent. That's fine. The movie is very insightful as to how society is working in the social media, Trump, Biden, woke age. If you enjoy thinking about these kinds of things, you will absolutely love this movie.

This is also a movie about Texas culture, and it offers good insight on the culture of any place that is desolate, poor, remote, and without much opportunity. The story takes place in a remote area of Texas, and my previous sentence is not a comment on Texas as a whole, although certain Texas cultural elements are certainly shown in the movie. Thus, this movie has good elements that are common in movies about the culture of the economically poor in America. So, if you like movies, like "Wind River," "The Tender Bar," and "Nomadland," you will like this one, as well.

Next, this is a good movie because it displays the importance of individual people as human beings. It argues that people matter.

Lastly , I liked this movie because it shows growth in characters in a meaningful way. You learn something good about life from the movie. The movie makes you think about life, as it points to some important things, which makes it satisfying and worthwhile. Thoughtful movie. Bravo!

I gave it an eight, and struggled to not give it a nine. So, 8.5. Overall, the movie has a sense of loneliness (not a criticism; it intends that), which is the main reason I didn't rate it higher. That's not a criticism of the movie, it's just a reflection of my tolerance level for loneliness!

This movie is pretty awesome. It's very funny and filled with laugh-out-loud moments. And these aren't cheap laughs or sophomoric humor (which I don't mind). Most of the comedy is well-written and long-lasting (literally, remembering some parts still makes me laugh).

The dialogue is witty and clever with so many memorable lines. And they discuss and explore topics that really make you think. The premise is interesting and the story is intriguing throughout. And the drama really works.

The characters are unique and I think the entire cast does a great job. I especially want to point out Ashton Kutcher, even with such a small role. I basically have That '70s Show memorized and I used to love Punk'd. But I never thought he was a movie-level actor with any kind of range. This is the first time I've watched a role of his where I didn't see and hear Ashton Kutcher. His performance (and the writing) bring life to his character.

I really enjoyed Vengeance and would watch it again. I think most people will like it. (1 viewing, 8/3/2022)