Many cinephiles find themselves enjoying violent punk throwbacks. Which is why we were all rooting for Connor Marsden’s new film, Violence. The project had all the makings of a banger. An anti-hero, a city full of morally grey characters, and a drug war that promised lots of blood and bodies. So, it’s with no joy that I inform you that this movie feels flat and unfinished. 

Violence follows Henry Violence (Rohan Campbell) as he returns to the underworld he left behind to get clean. He’s come back for the woman he also left behind, Charlotte (Sarah Grey), who wants no part of his new straight edge life. His quest to get her out of this dangerous world lands him in the middle of an ongoing battle between rival drug cartels. It also puts him on the radar of quite a few people who want him dead.

The script, penned by Connor Marsden, Devin Myler, and William Woods, struggles to find the punk rock attitude the movie is striving for. The movie visually knows what it wants. That’s in huge part to Natasha Uhrig’s production design, Jamie Hiltstone’s art direction, and Amanda Lee Street’s costumes. However, Violence is bogged down with ridiculous dialogue. It also has too many flat performances for us to not look at the director. The movie looks like a very cool graphic novel brought to life, but sounds like a first draft of a script that was never fully developed.

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Rohan Campbell continues to be an actor who deserves better roles. He really tries to sell lines like, “She’s got death in her and it’s my fault,” and “I had to leave you…But I didn’t leave you. I had to do it alone first, but I’m back.” However, because everyone is so monotone and flat, these lines come across as not just bad, but also funny. The same could be said for so many of the supporting actors, who I hope I get to see in something else, because I choose to believe they can all do better than this. No one ever gives any energy. Not even when they are threatening each other! This slow it makes this movie feel twice as long.

Violence is a bit of a muddled mess where even the violent moments feel stale. I had to refrain from counting how many times a character commented on Violence being straight edge. However, if you make it a drinking game, you’ll probably be drunk before you hit the halfway mark. I also found myself giggling as people chanted “punk is dead” while Violence hung from a chain to be tortured again. 

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Charlie Rocket (Maddie Hasson) and her brother Bats (Tomaso Sanelli) end up being uneasy allies for Violence. However, their two sides of the coin reflects Violence’s struggles to get out of this world also fall hollow. Bats asks about going straight edge multiple times, signaling that he might want out of this life. Meanwhile, Charlie is sticking to the mission and trying to shut down Jimmy Jaz (Joris Jarsky). Jimmy is the person who gave Henry the nickname Violence. He was also the dealer Henry sold for before going straight edge. So, there is a lot of potential for these dynamics! However, Violence never gets out of its own way long enough to give them room to play. 

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Violence doesn’t even allow the coolest character in the film, Dead Ramone (Jasmin Kar), to be great, so I guess no one stood a chance. We have this lethal baddie who was betrayed by her friend who abandoned her. However, she gets sidelined when she’s not one of the few helping the movie live up to its title. She fully executes a would-be rapist, and it’s thrown away in this simmering snoozefest. I would love to see this character rescued and put into a film that has more than an aesthetic working in its favor.

Again, Marsden’s film about a former pusher who has gone straight edge could’ve been cool. I’m not sure why it never fully swerved into the lane it seemingly wanted to be in. Perhaps, there is a better version of Violence that never made it to the page. Or maybe it really is just a collection of designers who understood the assignment but were ultimately wasted on this film. Whatever the case may be, I hope everyone involved has a better film lined up in the immediate future.

Summary

The movie looks like a very cool graphic novel brought to life, but sounds like a first draft of a script that didn’t get a chance to fully develop. 

Tags: Brooklyn Horror Film Fest

Categorized: Reviews