Vengeance Is Mine

This little obscure independent British movie couldn't have been written, directed and acted any better. I think it's going to be a classic movie in the coming years. It's simplicity, it's honesty regarding reality make it the exception to many fantasy revenge movies. Real life could easily play out like this movie presents and this none more seen then when he shoots the first Villain, there's a dialogue interplay which ends with he line " That's my pen", now I'm not going to spoil it for you but this line exemplifies the whole film for me, check it out and you'll se what I am referring to.

The logic behind Harry's actions makes sense to loners who have the time without life's distractions to think things through to their final bloody conclusion.

An Indie Film isn't just a movie which is thought of as a limited budgeted venture without big shot studios at its helm. When one hears the term "Indie" one is instantaneously thrown off course. Watch Vengeance is Mine and it will forever change the way one perceives Indies.

Let me throw a few titles at you. THE DESCENT, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, MEMENTO, THE PASSION OF THE Christ, MEAN STREETS & THE TERMINATOR are some of the most stringent budgeted productions seen in the past decades. Vengeance is Mine does not have an A-List director to its name as some of the titles mentioned above. Instead The director can be considered an amateur with comparison to the Coens, Scorsese or Cameron. But still Vengeance is Mine is one of the most absurdly intense and realistic movies of 2021. Slow off the blocks Vengeance is Mine progresses at a slow pace focusing on the mysterious growth of the troubled Harry who works in a ancient church in London who embarks on a journey of revenge when he is totally ill wiped for it. What happens to a man who holds another man at gunpoint for the first time? He hesitates, he doubts himself, he is afraid of the consequences and most of all he himself is afraid of the situation. This all what Vengeance is Mine is at its core eventually? I for one think so. Vengeance is Mine gripped me from the very start. Its sparse in dialogue which works positively since this leaves plenty of room for the audience thoughts and musings. Each nook is fine tuned to extract the scenes maximum potential within his strained budget. When Harry bleeds that's all that happens; he bleeds. When Harry cries that's all that happens; Harry cries. Unlike Colin Farrell or Tom Hanks in PHONEBOOTH or CASTAWAY there isn't much taking place in the backdrop. There is no police squad, there is no island. Instead its always back seat of a car, a broken chair, a wall or a field. Vengeance is Mine is a thriller that lets of its steam cautiously but certainly. It's like walking the plank.

The Europeans have a knack of gripping you in films about lonely disconnected characters who are suffering some sort of crisis who then emerge from ashes of some sort of grief and then seek revenge and it usually takes place slowly and VISUALLY and this is a fine example of that.

Telling a story in pictures seems to be something American film makers have forgotten, they are riddled with tons and tons of dialogue, Irving the explainer film making.

In this film you are given the info and you put the pieces together yourself, treating the audience with respect in that they have some intelligence.

The whole dream thing did occur to me but I continued watching, that shot of the beach at the end could be heaven or it could be just a shot of a beach.

A fantastic revenge thriller that uses literally every penny of its micro budget perfectly, as throughout this looks visually as well put together as any other multi million dollar Hollywood production. The way it unravels is nothing other than completely gripping as it is a fine example of pure unencumbered story telling that shows the audience the unfolding evens a lot more than it tells them. Performance wise its top of the line, with Con O'Neill giving one of the most timid, yet still perfectly relatable killer performances, but is the smart direction that sets itself apart as it's faultlessly sharp and immensely effective. A gritty must see that is high brow genre movie.

The person with the better weapon and the element of surprise, gets to tell the truth. Because they have the power, and the truth hurts like a broken bone. In the underworld of London, only the possibility of revenge and the telling of such truths stir an impoverished loner named Harry. It likewise motivates his intended target. In a brutal spree, Harry struggles to gain the upper hand over his adversary. In this insightful, vicious and unconventional tale, there are surprising twists and turns. Harry learns some uncommon and profound good sense. Capable acting, an enthralling story and intriguing sights and sounds, kept me at the edge of my seat.