Home
Vengeance

Page

Vengeance

Summary
How to watch
News & features

❚ We may earn commission from links on this page. Our editorial is always independent (learn more).

Watch trailer

02:25

Vengeance

Name: Vengeance
Director: B J Novak
Genre: Comedy, Crime/detective, Mystery, Music, Thriller
Released: 2022
Duration: 1 h 48 min
Cast: B J Novak, Boyd Holbrook, J Smith-Cameron, Lio Tipton, Dove Cameron

Save

Comedy
Crime/detective

2022
B J Novak
108 mins
15

Summary

Comedy mystery starring BJ Novak and Boyd Holbrook. Cynical New York journalist Ben Manalowitz travels to Texas to attend the funeral of a woman he once briefly dated. When the dead woman's brother reveals that he believes his sister was murdered, Ben begins to investigate, and records a podcast about his findings.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Emma Simmonds

In the directorial feature debut of actor BJ Novak, a commitment-phobic writer is forced to take a long, hard look at himself when he travels to small-town Texas to attend the funeral of a woman he briefly dated. Novak also wrote the script and stars as Ben, a cynical New Yorker taken under the wing of the dead woman's firecracker brother (Boyd Holbrook), who wants Ben to investigate and perhaps avenge his sister's death. Unconvinced that there is anything suspicious going on, Ben sees an opportunity to turn his sleuthing into a pompous-sounding podcast. Some of the fish-out-of-water comedy feels familiar, as this sneering intellectual is floored by folksy charm, but Vengeance benefits from an interesting cast, including Issa Rae, J Smith-Cameron and a cast-against-type Ashton Kutcher. It also develops in unexpected ways, mixing neo-noir elements and irreverence with philosophical musings. The result is an intelligently written and sometimes funny film, which satirises our appetites for true-crime tales and offers a thoughtful, if not entirely satisfying, take on a divided America.

imdb-square

6.8/10