Vengeance

Vengeance

Ben Manalowitz, a journalist and podcaster, travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
  • Stars: B. J. Novak, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara, J. Smith-Cameron, Lio Tipton
  • Director: B. J. Novak
 Comments
  • jesper_vang - 16 February 2024
    A story with a lot to say
    Just finished the movie and it's remarkable, I had to get my take.. It is a well-written story that's both moving and insightful. While set in West Texas, the location and characters serves as mere backdrop for the impactful punchline. Some may find the portrayal of Texans or rural Americans offensive, but it's crucial to see the larger picture some times. The movie was captivating with powerful storytelling and thought-provoking themes, 'Vengeance' delived on multiple levels. It centers around the disconnect between individuals and current subjects, as everyone has an opinion or a chosen side. Perhaps we align ourselves based on our social groups or struggle to cope with hard facts or maybe we find it challenging to remain unbiased due to the overwhelming influence of social media and our suroundings. Deferent generations might have spilt oppinions about the main story in the movie, but that is only good. At least the movie mannaged to be thought-provoking without directly taking a side or telling the viewer what to think - well done..
  • MOscarbradley - 5 August 2023
    Destined for cult movie status.
    This terrific little movie is going to disappear without trace because it's virtually unclassifiable. It's a comedy, it's a thriller and it's a satire about Trump's America, the so-called intelligentsia and social media in general and it's all the work of one man, the extremely gifted B. J. Novak who wrote it, directed it and plays the lead. He's a writer for the New Yorker who suddenly finds himself both exploiting and helping the family of a former girlfriend, (more of a casual hook-up, actually), who has been found dead in rural Texas. Did she OD or was she murdered?

    Summoned to her funeral by her red-neck brother, (an excellent Boyd Holbrook), who intends for the two of them to avenge her death, he turns a very awkward situation into a podcast entitled 'Dead White Girl'. It's a funny and smart movie though perhaps Novak is aiming at too many targets; sometimes he misses but for a movie aimed at a general mass audience it shows real flair. Best of all it goes places you don't expect it to. It may not burn up the box-office now but I can see cult status beckoning.
  • chris_rowe-881-168820 - 3 June 2023
    Blinded by narcissism
    When I first saw BJ in the office I couldn't stand him, his voice, his face, mannerisms, he just came across really amateur and like he was trying to do what other people had already done, personally think that show would've been even better without him.

    You can tell by his acting career since, it's not been good, writing is more his thing but tbh in a day and age with so much horrendous content continuing to get green lit, being a writer is about as impressive as using a toaster.

    There were many red flags here, anytime someone writes and directs and casts themselves, atleast 7 in 10 would've been far better with better actors, this was one of those, I overlooked BJ as I liked the plot of the film.

    There were sections where it got needlessly woke, shoe horned verbiage just to get across some personal opinions and spread some controversy, you could tell it came from him as he spoke it so naturally but that scene was just weird.

    The rest of the film was actually great, everything but BJs horrendous acting was entertaining.
  • ChatGPT - 8 December 2022
    "Vengeance" explores the complexities of retribution, but falls into clichés.
    "Vengeance" is an intriguing and thought-provoking film that explores the concept of vengeance and its place in modern society. The story follows New Yorker writer Ben Manalowitz as he is drawn into the world of a small Texas town after the death of a woman he had a brief relationship with. As he grapples with his own guilt and the desire for vengeance, he also encounters the town's inhabitants and their own struggles with violence and retribution.

    While the film does a good job of examining the themes of vengeance and its effects on individuals and communities, it ultimately falls into the same clichés and tropes that it is trying to critique. The "red state" versus "blue state" dichotomy is overly simplistic, and the characters often feel like stereotypes rather than fully fleshed-out individuals.

    Overall, "Vengeance" is an interesting and thought-provoking film, but it ultimately falls short of its potential.
  • corpsman12 - 14 November 2022
    If you didn't like it, you didn't get it
    This movie is complicated. Not complicated in the sense that people won't understand it but complicated in that you don't know whether to like it or take an issue with something in it. I think it was great writing with some nice philosophical ideas. In a time when we are all so divided about everything, BJ writes a movie where a some point you're mad and happy about the specific issue you may have. This is not a throw it on and play on your phone movie and you will catch some nice things here and there, but it's a story about life. It's simple yet deep. Everything means everything so everything means nothing is brilliant. I may have misquoted that, but still I enjoyed this movie. Well done.
  • vincent-93104 - 25 October 2022
    Slow, Boring, Confusing
    Is this supposed to be a comedy? A drama? A thriller? How would we know? This is more like a weird fictional fantasy about Texas written by someone who's clearly never been to Texas. It's full of tired and nonsensical clichés and one dimensional cardboard cutout characters.

    This movie represents everything wrong with Hollywood and the entertainment industry right now. BJ Novak, a guy born in New York writing a cultural biopic about somewhere he knows nothing about.

    Additionally, Issa Rae's appearance here is super confusing. Her character is completely unnecessary to the story and her acting comes across as phony and forced. Her character was clearly inserted here to try and get the movie approved by the powers that be.