Vincent N Roxxy is an interesting reboot of 'Boy meets girl', this time around taking place in the hinterlands of Louisiana. The settings feel authentic and so do the performances of the primary actors Emile Hirsch, Zoe Kravitz, Zoey Deutch, Emery Cohen and Kid Cudi.
The film begins in the big city then quickly moves out into the country, and many moments have a city versus country feel, reflected in both the behavior of the principals and the colorful but rough nature of the country locales, plus the finale that I promise not to spoil.
Hirsch is emerging as one of the more reliable workman of his profession and his performance has all the needed angst and depression that his role calls for. Kravitz is excellent (isn't she always) as the city girl who encounters a new flavor of life but finds that some things continue to taste the same, city and country. Kid Cudi, in just a little more than an extended cameo is genuinely menacing and worthy of our scorn.
As a secondary couple Deutch and Cohen really shine. Both continue to emerge with real heavyweight chops in supporting spots. Not only does Cohen look like a natural to play Hirsh's brother but he offers his character in energetic counterpoint to Hirsh's subdued and 'James Deanesque' troubled young man. (I caught Cohen in 2015's Brooklyn and Stealing Cars, as well as 2016's Detour, and truly enjoyed his work each time.) Zoey Deutch has a small but significant role as a country girl and she almost perfectly fits her scenes, especially at her 'tavern' work place. In a short period of time she has presented herself in essential, disparate projects like this film and 'Why Him' and offered the sort of performances that show real range.
I believe that all five cast members cited are still ascending in stature and will probably have many years of memorable offerings. Though Hirsh probably outranks the other players in professional accomplishments I feel he, too, has great stuff before him.
This sort of love story on a near indie budget is a nice place to see a cast working together, demanding solid effort by all so that the project succeeds. In short order you get to know enough about the characters so that they can manage the whole illusion that such a small drama must become, in order to retain viewer interest.
In such a film I always feel there will be a few dangling script issues and maybe minor continuity errors, but here none of that gets in the way of your meeting the characters before you and becoming interested in them and their lives. Though there is a certain predictability to the ending there are a few major shocks that will last with you, after you are finished viewing. You will remember this film.
The soundtrack, credited to Questlove, is well-integrated for the most part and has a few songs in particular that seemed near perfect, based on the action in the foreground. The 'official' trailer has a representative mix of song samples from the movie. It's good enough that it has me looking for a more, in depth summary of the score. I'm still on that project.
I read a criticism of the movie the other day that was just a little too bizarre. The author insisted that the characters and the scenes were simply not believable. Coming from an area that still has a fair amount of 'rural' living going on I can assure one and all that there are people just like Vincent, Roxxie, and all the others in the film, out and about. In fact, there isn't a short supply of those types.
Without spoiling things I must add that there are some moments of extreme violence. If that sort of thing troubles you then you might steer-clear. However, there are many more scenes with crisp acting and a warmly-filmed landscape that will feel as foreign to many 'city' people as the Dark Side of the Moon.
One of my favorite moments takes place on a Ferris Wheel and there are real 'sparks' between Hirsh and Kravitz, the right kind of 'sparks'. A moment of humility between the brothers, near the conclusion also has an almost sweet sort of warmth to it without an over-do. The last five or ten minutes are gripping and surprising enough that you feel the hand of a professional director.
