Review of St. Vincent (2014) by Raji K — 19 Dec 2016

Bill Murray stars as Vincent in St. Vincent, a film written and directed by Theodore Melfi. Vincent is a man of questionable character, in that he drinks heavily, gambles frequently, visits prostitutes, and owes money all across town. When his new neighbor Maggie (Melissa Mccarthy) moves in and accidentally damages his tree, fence and car, Vincent threatens to sue for retribution.

Right from the start Maggie and her son Oliver, can tell he will be an unpleasant neighbor. When Oliver gets locked out of the house, Vincent agrees to watch him for an hourly rate. The two begin to bond, due to Maggie's working schedule, and unknown to her, he teaches him how to fight, gamble and even goes to a bar. These events cause her to lose her custody and hate Vincent. What they do not know is that Vincent, is actually a caring person underneath who is a war veteran, a man caring for his dying wife, and simply is at a rough point in his life. The prostitute he is with (Naomi Watts), is a woman that he still cares for and helps her with her pregnancy. Oliver deems that all these characteristics make Vincent equitable to a modern-day saint.

St. Vincent features solid performances, particularly from Bill Murray. Melissa McCarthy proves she has a bit more range than being the comedic fat girl in a film. In many instances its McCarthy's character who is more of the bad person for she is quite stubborn. She fights for her son even though she clearly cannot tend to him, and she is completely oblivious to any of the circumstances that occur throughout the day with her son as Murray's character does point out. Despite good performances, the film feels a bit too contrived. All the events that continue to unfold throughout the movie seem to just be all too obvious to advance the story or try and throw an emotional curve and element to the film. The moral of the story is certainly to love your neighbor, and to not judge a book by its cover. There were many times where I felt the film is trying too hard to be an deeply emotional, but uplifting drama. The film is worth watching for those who are a fan of Murray or independent movies, but does not extend much beyond that.

-12.19.2016.