MOVIE REVIEW: B.J. Novak tells a touching tale of truth, myths, and Texas in VengeanceFilm.
If you’re anything like me, your first reaction to the idea of a quirky little mystery/comedy as the directorial debut of B.J. Novak, who also happens to have written the film and stars as its lead, is that of steadfast resistance.
The family seems to think they were a more serious couple than they actually were, and Ben gets dragged down to rural West Texas for the funeral when brother Ty confides something in him: He believes Abilene was murdered.
Though there is some truth in Ben’s thesis that the film itself explores, it doesn’t ignore the fact that he is exploiting a family that has taken him in, recording a podcast story that casts the victim aside in search of some hazy larger truth.
It makes for an interesting dissection of an American cultural divide in a way that is both thoughtful and funny. At its core,is a fish-out-of-water comedy about someone who slowly realizes his preconceived notions may actually be bullshit. Novak does an impressive job in not resorting to turning the Shaw family into goofy Texas caricatures. They love Whataburger and know the history of the Alamo but they also subtly call out Ben when he assumes they don’t know what South by Southwest is.
Novak still falls into typical debut and indie pitfalls, like scenes that are cloyingly sentimental, as well as hitting the requisite beats you expect from something like this; you’re just counting the minutes until he has a fallout with the family he’s become unexpectedly close to. But the characterizations that are drawn here are more affecting than you may expect, and it finds a uniquely somber conclusion that doesn’t let its main character, or the themes explored through him, go to waste.
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