When you pull a good, attractive cast together with an interesting premise, it seems as if there is a remedy for at least a decent film. At first glance, Vincent N Roxxy appears to be the perfect addition to the Tribeca Film Festival that has the potential to turn into an indie darling. These ideas are shattered one hour into the movie, and then completely obliterated by the end. To make it clear, this was simply not an enjoyable movie.
Emilie Hirsch (Into the Wild) stars as Vincent, who meets Roxxy (Zoe Kravtiz) after saving her from a violent attack. Hiding from their potential pursuers, they both hide out on Vincent’s family farm with his brother, Emory Cohen (Brooklyn). The movie then goes into a lull as Roxxy and Vincent grow closer until a shocking twist at the end threatens to tear the lovers apart.
Vincent N Roxxy is two hours of boring with bookends of extreme acts of violence. This first violent act starts the movie off seemingly well as we wonder what will come next for Vincent and Roxxy. Unfortunately, nothing interesting happens for the next two hours. The script is not strong enough to support this bland, rural love story. The dialogue falls flat; it is not captivating, funny or redeeming in any way. Perhaps this gives a more authentic, realistic feel to the movie, but it still doesn’t capture the audience’s attention.
This script also leads to lifeless characters. Although Cohen, Kravitz and Hirsch are talented, and have proven so in other films, they are not able to make the audience care about their characters, their relationships or plot’s outcome. The heart of the movie is Kravtiz and Hirsch’s budding romance, which would work if they had better chemistry. Though not totally their fault (more of a casting error), their lack of chemistry is not aided by dull dialogue for them to try to give life to. One redeemable factor was the cameo by Kid Cudi, who is not half-bad. Although his character is not multi-faceted, his appearance is one of the most interesting parts of the film (and that’s saying something).
These characters might be slightly more interesting if there were given more backstory. We’re thrust into a plot and relationships that have no explanation, and the screenwriter believes that a couple of sentences is enough to explain everything. Vincent and his brother have been estranged for the past few years after the death of their mother. It seems apparent that they both resent each other because Vincent took care of his mother for several years before she died and then left, leaving his brother to bury her. While this seems like good character exposition, this does explain their relationship, but in a bland, stereotypical way.
The last 15 minutes of Vincent N Roxxy completely breaks free from the dull tone of the movie, but is only more interesting by the severe violence included. This jolt of adrenaline is much needed after almost falling asleep for two hours, and at this point we do not care about the characters or what happens further. Although in interviews, Kravtiz makes it seem like this twist is completely out of the blue, but in reality, it is trite and overdone, especially in independent film.
Verdict: 1 out of 5
There are so many ways Vincent N Roxxy could have been improved, and a good script doctor might have made the movie slightly more watchable. Nevertheless, what appears on screen is unfortunately a waste of time, despite the director’s best efforts to make it a good addition to indie canon by including graphic sex and violence. While I wanted this film to be better than it was, it is honestly not worth anyone’s time or money.
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