By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Justine Bateman
Starring: Dennis Boutsikaris | Erica Ash | Justin Theroux | Luke Bracey | Olivia Munn | Todd Stashwick | Zachary Gordon
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 92
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6852672/reference
Michael says: “Yes, that Justine Bateman, Michael J. Fox’s TV older sister in ‘Family Ties.’ Part of the reason I wanted to see this film was to see where Ms. Bateman was coming from creatively, decades after her youthful fame. I think I probably liked this film more than the rest of the usual Chlotrudis discussion crowd, and after hearing their complaints, I can see them better, but while I was watching VIOLET, I actually enjoyed it well enough, even if I was occasionally uncomfortable with some of the earnest, yet clumsy moments in the film. VIOLET tells the story of a young woman who works for a Hollywood Production company, who struggles, as many people do, and surely everyone has at least at some point in their lives, with that voice in her head telling her that she’s worthless, that everyone hates her, and they she will never succeed. Sadly, more often than not, Violet believes that voice, and sabotages herself in ways that keep her from moving forward in her life. How she got to where she is, is a bit of a mystery. She rooms with her long-time best friend, who is handsome, a talented screenwriter, and who loves her, but as the voice in her head says, what? he’s a screenwriter! That’s the lowest creative on the totem pole… you will lose everyone’s respect if you end up with him. Her previous long-term relationship literally went-up in flames when the voice in her head told her not to bother blowing out the candles in their shared apartment (there was a bit of clumsy writing, I’ll admit). Her production assistants do little work, and run rings around her because her inner voice tells her she wants to be liked, not come across as a bitch. And her boss gives her a little line to think that she is competent, only to tug her back in just when she thinks she’s going to do something worthwhile. He’s a #MeToo Movement cliche, but unfortunately, probably a very real one.
“Yes, Bateman probably employs one too many cinematic tricks than is necessary to make her points. Justin Theroux is wonderfully sly and emotionally abusive as Violet’s unseen voice, and I was impressed by Olivia Munn in the role of VIolet. She was beautiful and clearly intelligent, but to see her succumb to her own self-worth issues was painful and seemed very true. The staticky, red-screen fades that emerged when Violet’s inner voice took over was a nice touch, but then the hand-written lines on the screen detailing what Violent was thinking was a step too far, and unnecessary, given the fact that Munn’s acting was doing that work for us already. For me, the thing that elevated this film above the cautionary psych 101 tale it could have been, was the setting in the mysterious world of film production. I’ve never really seen that world depicted in this day-to-day manner, and to see the details of how that work unfolds on a day to day basis was pretty fascinating for me. So uneven, and a bit too heavy-handed? Sure. But I still found it a fascinating look at how we are our often our biggest stumbling blocks (it reminded me of the lead character in SUGAR DADDY, and how she couldn’t get out of her own way to be successful) and that it is also possible to overcome that voice. 3 1/2 cats”
Chris says: “For her directorial feature debut, Justine Bateman throws a whole buncha stuff at the wall hoping it’ll all stick, and some of it does: Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux as her inner voice, the inner workings of Hollywood and a slew of cameos. However, some paper-thin characters, edgy, quick abstract cuts and onscreen narration rendered in cursive script slide right off. 3 cats“