Vengeance, written, directed, and starring B.J. Novak, is a mature and amusing film debut that is full of the comedian's biting social satire. However, much like the story's protagonist, the narrative struggles to make any truly profound points about life, death, or the value of storytelling. In Vengeance, Novak addresses a wide range of topics, including hook-up culture, predatory opportunism, and the escalating conflicts between east coast elitism and heartland conservatism. Finding the "story" in a murder investigation podcast is the movie's central conceit, which gives the director the justification to meander from one concept (and crazy character) to the next. However, by the film's conclusion, Novak is struggling to tie everything together, which leads to some extremely heavy-handed exchanges that are at odds with the movie's otherwise deft methods.

Due to his writing and producing roles on The Office, Novak is no stranger to social satire, and Vengeance is brimming with original concepts, perceptive opinions, and well-timed chuckles. It's a funny story that skillfully adheres to and then deviates from true-crime podcast conventions, offering an engaging and startlingly accurate insight on what draws people to murder mysteries. The fate of Abilene and the circumstances that led the Shaw family to believe Ben was Abby's lover strike a delicate balance and offer a lighthearted (but appropriately grounded) twist on anticipation that would fit in perfectly with a real-life true-crime inquiry.

Vengeance is pretty much what viewers will anticipate it to be: well-written and entertaining, like pretty much everything Novak had a hand in creating. Moment-to-moment scenes come together to create a gratifying whole, one that will undoubtedly hit many of the appropriate notes for fans of true-crime podcasts who enjoy going to the movies. However, several of the Vengeance's scenes and characters rely heavily on blatant explanation and pontification, making it difficult to believe Novak is in complete control of his story from beginning to end. The film instead explores a lot of questions and juggles a lot of concepts, most of which are fine, but important pieces don't make their landing, diminishing the overall impact of what Novak, plainly, tries to communicate.
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G GOWTHAM

31/07/2022 12:29 PM