Redbox Review: St. Vincent

With Redbox Review it is my hope to answer a simple question, to wit: having decided not to see a particular movie in the theater, is it worth the $1.50 to rent that movie from your local Redbox?

St. Vincent is Theodore Melfi’s first feature length film since 1999. In the interim he has resided mostly in the world of shorts. St. Vincent has the feel of a short film. The layout is simple. A bitter, broken old man befriends a young boy. Through that relationship the man is revealed to be something more than a solitary crank.

As a formula, it isn’t exactly breaking the mold. What sets St. Vincent apart from other films in the genre is the strength of the individual performances. Bill Murray inhabits Vincent like a well-worn shirt. I could have watched the credit sequence of Murray, singing along to Bob Dylan song over his Walkman (itself a brilliant piece of costume/production design) for an hour. Jaeden Lieberher—who plays 12 year old Oliver—is a revelation (his work is reminiscent of a young Asa Butterfield, though it seems unlikely that Lieberher will ever play Peter Parker). Naomi Watts is hilarious in her role as the pregnant Russian prostitute who loves, and is loved by, Vincent. Melissa McCarthy is not at her best here, but even a below average McCarthy performance contains moments of humor and sincere feeling.

I found the climax, Oliver delivering a speech to his school about Vincent, slightly overwritten. But it is hard to say that the emotion was not earned.

Rating: Worth the $1.50