SXSW Review: The Overwhelming Anxiety of Self-Doubt in ‘Violet"
Deep in the recesses of your mind lives a persistent voice that tells you things. At its best, it’ll tell you to act on gut instinct, but at its worst, and at its most insistent, it could very well erode the foundation of your emotional well-being with phrases like “You’re not good enough,” or “Don’t make a scene,” or “They’re right, you know.” You may find yourself asking, “Why can’t I stop this voice in my head?” Violet (Olivia Munn) asks herself this very question whenever her inner voice “the committee” (Justin Theroux) incessantly chimes in to degrade her. Violet is a highly competent movie executive who every company wants on their payroll. She is dedicated to her job, choosing to remain loyal to the person who gave her an early opportunity in the industry even if the long hours might distance herself from friends and family. “Why do I let fear let me feel separate all the time?” she finds herself pondering. Unfortunately, she also listens to “the committee” more than she’d like.
After anticipating a premiere at last year’s festival, Justine Bateman’s directorial debut Violet now finds itself on SXSW’s 2021 slate. “This is the film I wish I had watched 30 years ago. I would have become my true self a lot faster,” Bateman said in 2020. Now, a year later, we have the opportunity to assess those claims.
Violet’s most alluring aspect is its cinematic embodiment of Violet’s internal voice. It isn’t simply made of a snippets of biting voiceover from Theroux, but rather it incorporates a diverse use of cinematic tools. During an escalated argument with her friend Lyla, and during much of the film’s runtime, scrawled text appears overlaying the screen saying “Please don’t go.” Does this hint at Violet’s true emotions or her deceitful internal voice? Adding to the variety are stunted glimpses of traumatic memories that hint at characters’ unseen pasts and frames that slowly changed hues to accentuate particularly intense moments. In all, Bateman does not want a passive viewing experience, but it does at times border on overwhelming, especially out of the gate.
Still, these tactics embody the death-by-a-thousand-cuts-of-inner-thought that consume Violet and inundate the viewer. As she tries to reassess what makes herself happy, including romantic flames with her best friend Red (Luke Bracey), Munn’s calculated performance as Violet makes the character feels like a universal representation of self-doubt. It’s easy to empathize with, but it soon becomes clear that in order to change, Violet must stop listening to “the committee” and start listening to herself. While Violet loses steam in delivering that emotional payoff, its blend of cinematic tools makes the film an interesting journey nonetheless.
Cinema As We Know It’s SXSW Online 2021 Coverage
You’re laughin’? There’re more SXSW reviews to read and you’re laughin’?
