Grade: B+
It makes me sad I’m not more familiar with Bill Murray’s work.
It makes me even sadder that Melissa McCarthy doesn’t do at least semi-serious roles more often.
I say this because both of these stars absolutely shine in “St. Vincent.”
“St. Vincent” is the story of a young boy, Oliver, played by Jaeden Lieberher in his first feature-length film, who’s just moved to a new house with his struggling single mother, Maggie, played by the aforementioned McCarthy.
Since Maggie works long shifts at the hospital, the pair’s grouchy neighbor, Vincent, played by Murray, takes up the role of Oliver’s babysitter after school.
A gambling old alcoholic who’s got a worrisome close relationship with a pregnant prostitute, Vincent is obviously not the ideal babysitter for a growing mind like Oliver’s, but Maggie’s got to take what she can get.
All three of them play director-writer Theodore Melfi’s vision out to perfection — nothing about the film took me out of the moment.
The dialogue is natural, especially coming from veteran Murray.
Murray’s character is so lovable and so hateable at the same time, and so real, that it’s difficult to believe Vincent is a work of fiction.
McCarthy is also brilliant in her role. She’s not shimmying her figure for cheap laughs anymore — she’s giving us a human being that is easy to empathize with, easy to feel for and, most importantly, easy to understand at the level good cinema can reach.
The only reason I don’t give “St. Vincent” full marks is because for me to give such a high grade, a film really has to reach out and at least graze uncharted territory.
“St. Vincent” does nothing of the sort.
Not saying that it’s all been done exactly as it’s presented, but the old man-young child dynamic is one that has definitely been played out.
Either way, it’s definitely a film worth seeing — if for no other reason, go see McCarthy in her best role since she was in “Bridesmaids.”
