Movie Review: Vengeance | Pittsburgh Magazine

How do you consider a film when its weaknesses are additionally its themes — a film that appears to be about its personal flaws?

“Vengeance,” a darkish comedy (of types) from author/director/star B.J. Novak, is a few overly pretentious city author making an attempt to mine a podcast from a small-town homicide. Its star is grating and unlikable — however solely as a result of he’s written that manner. Its premise is alternately condescending and trite — as a result of that’s how these tales are advised. It doesn’t have a neat ending — as a result of real-life tragedies changed into narratives hardly ever do.

So it succeeds, I suppose, at being unsatisfying.

Good job?

Novak stars as Ben, a “New Yorker” staffer with goals of virality. “I don’t simply need to be a author,” he unironically complains, “I need to be a voice.” When an previous hook-up (Lio Tipton) dies underneath suspicious circumstances in West Texas, her household errors Ben for a loving boyfriend; unwilling to additional disappoint the grieving household, he flies down to keep up the charade for the size of a funeral.

He discovers, nevertheless, the potential for serialized audio dynamite: A small-town homicide story with ties to a half-dozen hot-button political topics. He convinces a podcast bigwig (Issa Rae) to fund the endeavor and begins gathering rural taste.

To dabble within the form of semantic double-speak favored by Ben and his pals, “Vengeance” can’t determine if it’s about what it’s or if it’s about what it’s about. Sure, the script is a commentary on our tendency to over-intellectualize and under-empathize once we have a look at the lives of others. It additionally does simply that, nevertheless, it’s so busy making an attempt to make factors that it doesn’t hassle to determine which of them are vital.

It’s usually humorous, not less than. Novak is healthier as a author than he’s as a director or performer; he’s competent on the latter two expertise, however he’s clearly doing an excessive amount of directly with “Vengeance.” He may’ve stayed behind the digital camera; his tackle Ben is simply too wanting to look cool, too involved with likability. Extra of an antihero was wanted.

“Vengeance” is a promising effort for Novak — whereas he’s written and directed extensively for the small display, that is his function debut in each roles — that sells him as somebody who may make a fairly good comedy sooner or later. Whereas these indicators are current right here, nevertheless, it’s in the end a close to miss.

I’d hearken to the podcast, although.

My Ranking: 5/10

“Vengeance” is now taking part in in theaters.