The Vicious Kind

The premise of this movie seemed interesting enough for me to give it a try. The story revolves around Caleb, a misogynist construction worker in a small town. His younger brother Peter just got his first "serious" girlfriend, which he is bringing for Thanksgiving to their dad's.

Adam Scott was an unknown to me but is absolutely amazing in the role of Caleb. He conveys all the suffering in this character on the inside, with all the aggressiveness on the outside. Caleb is fueled by hatred and negativity but the writing and direction of Lee Toland Krieger, and the performance by Scott suggest that if this hatred is explicitly directed at others, it is implicitly self-hatred.

Caleb is estranged from his father for reasons we learn about through the movie and his relationship with his naive brother is uneasy at best. The gap separating them is the very different outlook they have on life and love. Peter is more of an idealist while Caleb is on the slippery slope of fatalism.

Neither of them seems to be able to see the complete picture and their father Donald Sinclaire might have something to do with this. Donald is the prototypical dad figure. Doesn't talk much and prefers to address superficialities when he does. A scene that particularly highlight this is a dinner scene between him, Peter and his girlfriend Emma. While Donald can't stop complimenting Emma on her looks, Peter at some point shifts to her academic background, which seems to put the father outside his comfort zone. Veteran actor J.K. Simmons puts another great performance as the father, a great casting choice.

The last piece of the puzzle is the outsider who crashes in this family at such a critical point. Emma is Peter's new girlfriend and while it would have been easy to make this character little more than a plot device, she has several interesting layers to her. What we know from the start about her is that she is smart, polite, beautiful and herself comes from a less than perfect family (there is talk of alcoholism). More importantly perhaps, she dumped someone for Peter, which further fuels Caleb's belief that "all women are whores" as he likes to say. I had no idea who Brittany Snow was but I was blown away by her performance as Emma. Looking at her credit list afterwards, I would never have expected that.

The story mixes all the things you'd expect from an indie. Humor (mostly dark) is there, the main characters are quirky and the peripheral characters even more so. The camera-work, editing and music all ooze of this "indie feel". If anything, this hurts this heartfelt film more than it helps. Lee Toland Krieger obviously wrote a great and heartfelt story but there,s this sense that he has watched a lot of film festival darlings and well... it's just not terribly original in presentation and at times, feels formulaic.

The only other negative aspect would be the character of Peter. Naive and idealistic does not mean a character should be bland. Likewise, actor Alex Frost is unremarkable in this role.

All in all, this is a fine film and with Caleb Sinclaire, we have been given a misogynist character that almost rivals Roger Swanson (from the cult classic Roger Dodger). I just hope that in the future, Lee Toland Krieger will find his own voice and style when making movies as opposed to shooting it "like other indies".

The Vicious Kind may not be what it seems like from the title or the premise, but that turns out to be a good thing, in this little gem of a straight to video film that does pay off if you stick with it to the end. Disillusioned Caleb (Adam Scott), who chain smokes as he tells his newly smitten brother Peter (Alex Frost) that 'They're all whore's-' he's talking about women of course. But no matter how off putting and anti social he might seem at first, Caleb, well guided by Scott's first rate performance, is one of those character's you couldn't ignore if you tried. Peter's new girlfriend Emma Gainsborough (Brittany Snow) might have an upper class name, but we can tell she's not from wealth even if she didn't keep sneaking outside to smoke. But as much as she may be turned off by Caleb's many acts where he well acts out, (including leaving X rated pics of himself with a prostitute for her to find), we know that the bad brother has something to offer that the good one can't possibly provide, and while the third act of the film does not play out too predictably, it would be no surprise to most viewers what happens. But the performances above all make this film watchable, not the least of which comes from J.K. Simmons as Frank, the father who is estranged from Caleb, while inviting of Peter and Emma's budding relationship. Simmons turns in yet another dependable and likable character here, even with the least screen time of the four. Happy endings may not necessarily abound at the end, but at the very least the film leaves it's character's with the promise for a different path.

Ever been hurt by a member of the opposite sex so badly you went through the growing a beard and wearing a stained t-shirt while being rude to everyone you came in contact with but really just wanting a hug phase? Whew. Me too. That's why this movie is so enjoyable. The film mostly follows Adam Scott's character Caleb. The film doesn't divulge all the details right away and I won't either, but let's just say a girl hurt him. Badly. Enough to make him the rudest bearded person around. His family life is not that great either, if you add the fact he's not even allowed to step foot on his Father's (JK Simmons) Property. Basically his wide eyed and innocent Brother Peter (Alex Frost) is all the family Caleb has. So naturally when he meets Peters gorgeous new girlfriend (Brittany Snow), who looks like the adorable punk rock girl that would rip out your heart from your chest and look cute doing it.....Caleb tries to stop his brother from falling for her, and of-course... ends up falling for her himself.

This film is written perfectly and played perfectly by everyone involved. What could have easily been a love triangle movie we have seen a thousand times before was anything but. Scott's performance as a guy teetering on the edge of madness and looking for answers is top notch. Snow never lets on exactly what she's thinking which makes for a really interesting movie throughout. JK Simmons is great as you would expect him to be and the writing leaves you wanting even more. The film had a great look to it and a decent soundtrack. It didn't feel like a false big budget romance, yet it didn't feel like a hipster indie film either. Yes, some indie films are starting to become as cliché as the big budget films. Not here though, this film has entertaining anger and a dark heart. But it's a genuine dark heart and an enjoyable, believable watch.

Mike Holtz WeWatchedAMovie http://www.youtube.com/wewatchedamovie

In a lot of ways this feels like a some what darker version of Dan In Real life. Caleb (Adam Scott) picks up his little brother Peter (Alex Frost) and his new girlfriend Emma (Brittany Snow) for Thanksgiving. It becomes clear that Caleb is dealing with some raging emotional issues. About his ex-girlfriend and his dad Donald (J.K. Simmons)who tends to have issues of his own. Caleb starts to grow infatuated with Emma to the point of almost breaking sanity.

I"m not going to spoil the film so I am going to keep my feelings short. By no means is the story original,but the acting was good enough to enjoy it. I think Adam Scott played his role well. As well as Brittany . Got to give it up for J.K. Simmons! That guy rocks at playing dad's . The weakest acted role in my opinion was by Alex Frost. Not saying it was bad! Just not as strong as the others. He played a great bully in Drillbit Taylor though ill give him that.

I give it an 8 out of 10! Simply because of the acting, and starring at Brittany for an hour and a half wasn't so bad either...Shes Gorgeous!

An elegant study in character and the use of subtle good vs evil interplay in the presentation of a character to an audience. Caleb, the character in question, is the true focus of the movie, though the camera dwells lovingly on the beautiful Emma ("a dark angel, does your sister dye her hair black like that? It's very flattering") for obvious reasons.

Our feelings for Caleb shift constantly from bemusement, to loathing, to admiration to astonishment, but the balance is always cleverly maintained in his favour (juxtaposed by a less than flattering portrayal of his brother as the prudish 'republican') and with the climax of the film, despite his often atrocious behaviour, Caleb is the lovable anti-hero. We find ourselves, against our better judgement, rooting for him.

Kreiger has created one of the most memorable personalities in a modern film - a true train wreck of a character and one you will not forget in a hurry - and a masterclass in independent film making. Forget Paranormal Activity. Here is a budget movie worthy of the indie tag and your attention.