St. Vincent (Quick Review)

To put it bluntly, St. Vincent is fundamentally a Jason Reitman film without the overabundance of pretentiousness.  It’s a character comedy-drama combining cynical, dark humor with a heartwarming center.  One of St. Vincent’s primary highlights is its acting, with Bill Murray starring as Vincent; a cynical, politically incorrect, old fart who underneath possesses a surprising (though quite unconventional) heart of gold.  Murray’s portrayal stands alongside the top of effective grumpy old men performances, balancing dry pan humor alongside hidden benevolence without becoming too mean-spirited or overly-whimsical (in one scene he saves a boy from a group of bullies...then threatens to beat up their moms while breaking the leader's skateboard and using it as a projectile weapon).  In fact the majority of the film balances comedy, drama, and sincerity effectively well; having dark comedy prevent full-blown sappiness, while drama prevents the film from becoming a complete gag.

Our deuteragonist Oliver (a kid Vincent’s forced to babysit, played by Jaeden Lieberher) is an example of the film’s excellent balancing.  At times Oliver can be the polite, innocent youngster (naive to Vincent’s more risqué life habits), the scrawny wimp who Vincent trains against bullies, or the wise beyond his years adolescent who ends up teaching Vincent some life lessons.  Lieberher balances these characteristics convincingly, effectively working alongside Murray rather than in his shadow (an impressive feat particularly for such a young actor).  St. Vincent’s stand out performance however, comes unexpectedly from Melissa McCarthy as Oliver’s mother Maggie, giving one of her most impressive performances on screen!  In one scene Maggie visits Oliver’s school to discuss a fight he got into (thanks to Vincent’s training); there she reveals the many issues going on in her life (her husband’s many affairs, divorce, custody battle, having to work overtime as a nurse, etc…).  The vividly emotional scene is one of Melissa McCarthy’s finest, being intensely realistic while providing just a hint of welcomed humor near the end. 

While the plot’s been done many times before, St. Vincent (alongside its effective acting) contains several small, yet unique concepts; one of the most noticeable being Oliver’s Christian school.  When he first arrives, Oliver (who thinks he may possibly be Jewish) is asked to pray before class; when he divulges he’s not Catholic, the priest reveals many of the students aren’t (some are Baptist, Jewish, Buddhist, Agnostic, and Undeclared) yet insists Oliver pray in whatever way he sees fit.  The school’s students hold many different beliefs which the priests not only allow, but encourage for discussion, projects and at times playful competition; giving the film a refreshingly unique balance of philosophy and religious tolerance I haven’t seen since Life of Pi.  Yet these aspects take up only small sections of the film, and I would hardly claim St. Vincent is anything groundbreaking.  It is however a sweet and funny film, bringing together some excellent performances, refreshingly unique quirks, and an enjoyably balanced plot.

PS: It was weird and somewhat unnerving to see Chris O’Dowd playing a Christian priest after his recent role in Calvary…just saying.