Year of Release: 2018
Director: Sarah Daggar-Nickson
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, Tonye Patano, Betsy Aidem, Judy Marte, C.J. Wilson, Chuck Cooper
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review:
Following a few shorts, "A Vigilante" is Sarah Daggar-Nickson's feature directorial debut. The film follows the story of Sadie, a woman who helps women (mostly but not exclusively) escape domestic abuse situations. She lives precariously in motels, where she trains incessantly and has some devastating breakdowns. Through a series of flashbacks, we witness Sadie's heartbreaking story and how she eventually escaped her own devastating abuse story, embodied by her violent husband.
"A Vigilante" is a film filled with good intentions, showcasing a topic deserving of all attention possible, domestic abuse. It's also a film that capitalizes on what Patty Jenkins did with the complicity of Charlize Theron on "Monster": showcase through grittiness and as much realism as possible, the devastating effects that some brutal events have on women's lives. However where "Monster" succeeded in creating a universe and populating it with characters, "A Vigilante" is comprised of snapshots that never provide much insight into Sadie's plight, who she was and ultimately her sudden transition into the vigilante that we find her as. Olivia Wilde tries her hardest to make Sadie believable, someone living with unbearable pain and ghosts, but there's a hollowness to her performance, something that lacks substance and dimension - she forgets that in order to showcase pain, you have to draw a path that demonstrates an evolution of a person/character. Unlike Charlize Theron who loses herself in Aileen Wuornos, Olivia Wilde's performance is a more calculated one and one note, while the supporting characters are sketches and barely defined (including her ex husband, the catalyst for the situation she's in). There are glimpses of possibility, but it's a film that could benefit from a stronger point of view. Forgettable.
"A Vigilante" is a film filled with good intentions, showcasing a topic deserving of all attention possible, domestic abuse. It's also a film that capitalizes on what Patty Jenkins did with the complicity of Charlize Theron on "Monster": showcase through grittiness and as much realism as possible, the devastating effects that some brutal events have on women's lives. However where "Monster" succeeded in creating a universe and populating it with characters, "A Vigilante" is comprised of snapshots that never provide much insight into Sadie's plight, who she was and ultimately her sudden transition into the vigilante that we find her as. Olivia Wilde tries her hardest to make Sadie believable, someone living with unbearable pain and ghosts, but there's a hollowness to her performance, something that lacks substance and dimension - she forgets that in order to showcase pain, you have to draw a path that demonstrates an evolution of a person/character. Unlike Charlize Theron who loses herself in Aileen Wuornos, Olivia Wilde's performance is a more calculated one and one note, while the supporting characters are sketches and barely defined (including her ex husband, the catalyst for the situation she's in). There are glimpses of possibility, but it's a film that could benefit from a stronger point of view. Forgettable.
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