"VIOLET" // SXSW 2021
Justine Bateman's directorial debut VIOLET (delayed a year due to the pandemic) is a stunning one, one that is wholly original and uncomfortably relatable. We all have it: that inner voice that just won't shut the fuck up. It screams when we need it to whisper. It tells us we're worthless when we're feeling down. And somehow, we have to turn that negative voice around to a positive one, or at least figure out a way to mute it. Some people have a much louder voice than others, but admitting that the voice is real is truly part of the human condition. Olivia Munn shines as the title character, a powerful Hollywood executive who has fought her way to the top of the perch, where she currently sits. On the inside, her inner voice (voiced here by Justin Theroux) is trying to tear her apart. Telling her how much she sucks, how little people think of her. She's plagued by the voice and constantly fighting to keep it from getting too loud and taking over all of her thoughts.
On the screen, we often see her true thoughts, or her inner self's hopes of who she wants to become. The negative voice in her head tells her who it thinks she really is, which is next to nothing. It's constantly making her second guess her worth in every situation, struggling to keep a foothold in her own days. Even though we see what she truly wants, time after time, the negative voice in her head wins out. She does have some truly great people around her, including Red (Luke Bracey), a long-time friend who she's never let herself view romantically. Both of them spark an instant chemistry and the desire to see them together is immediate. Her reluctance echo's in our own lives, the fear of baring your soul with another, and we immediately understand her. Dennis Boutsikaris seems like a might be playing a stereotype, but as anyone with access to the internet in this post-Weinstein world knows, his terribleness truly is no stereotype. He chews the scenery and you instantly hate him just as much as Violet does, even though she can't say so.
As a high concept film goes, Bateman's world is a wonderfully original one, and one that doesn't ever wear out its welcome. Her direction is self-assured and precise and the script is relatable and often very, very funny (at least when it's not making your cringe for all the reasons it intended you to). Munn's performance throughout is glorious and Theroux's voice over nails the harshness perfectly. There are several small cameos throughout that delight (Hi Jim O'Heir!), but the film truly belongs to Munn and Bateman. Together they've created a beautiful original wallop of a film. One that lingers long after the credits, which, I may point out, feature all of the crew who made it happen on camera! That's a boss movie if I've ever seen one Bateman.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Justine Bateman STARRING Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux, Luke Bracey, Dennis Boutsikaris, Todd Stashwick, Bonnie Bedelia, Laura San Giacomo, Colleen Camp, Jim O'Heir, Erica Ash SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 SXSW FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: VIOLET