St. Vincent
Make no
mistake: Vincent MacKenna is a cheat, liar, and thief who smokes, drinks and
gambles. Don’t take my word for it: these are the words that come out of the
mouth of the babe who nominates him for sainthood. Go figure!
To be fair, a
lot has happened in Vincent’s life which brought him to this stage. A Vietnam veteran who saw a lot of action, he
battles addictions to alcohol and gambling, the latter nearly costs him his
health (such as it is) at the hands of an impatient bookie. No one would mistake him for being a lovable
curmudgeon. Gruff and cantankerous, Vincent does have a soft spot for an
elderly woman, Sandy, passing himself off as her doctor when he visits her in
an assisted living facility.
Into all of
this enters a mother trying to rebuild her life post-divorce. She is accompanied by a young boy - the
previously mentioned babe. An awkward
first meeting with her new neighbor, Vincent, leads somewhat circuitously to
his becoming the child’s after school sitter. Eventually, Vincent will also become the boy’s mentor in street smarts.
At first
hesitant, Vincent eventually warms to this chance assignment. Besides, he needs the money. A retiree always in need of money, Vincent is
turned down for a bank loan with a shrug and the classic salutation to
resignation: “It is what it is.” Aside
from the booze and gambling, Vincent is also in hock to Daka, his lady of the
evening friend who advises that her services are no longer available on lay
away. And, oh yes, she is a pregnant
lady of the evening also needing additional income when she is bounced from her
job as a stripper.
The young
boy, Oliver, is both naïve and yet wise beyond his years. When Vincent claims that the brain is the
most important human organ, Oliver points to his own heart. His parochial school education — where he
learns values which his teacher/priest would have you believe are exclusive
property of the Roman Catholic Church — is countered by Vincent’s after school
lessons.
There is the lesson of instant
gratification: a trip to the horse racetrack. There is the lesson of hard work for the sake of hard work: mowing a
yard that is totally devoid of grass. There is the lesson of learning who Abbott and Costello were…and so on.
There are a
small victories along the way — Oliver stands up to a school bully, Sandy comes
out of her dementia long enough to recognize that the doctor is actually her
husband, Vincent, and there is a very nice, profitable day at the racetrack — but
by the time this story ends, everyone loses something and accept the life
lessons of compromise. Life is what it
is, you know.
St. Vincent
has all the makings of a made-for-tv Hallmark channel presentation. It can be sappy at times, and veers close to
cliché at other times. Taking a young
impressionable child to the racetrack as a plot device? Doesn’t that go all the way back to Damon
Runyon? No matter, the ends justifies
the means, even if Vincent has to put the racing form to his forehead for
divine guidance in picking his horses.
There are great
performances from the entire cast. Bill
Murray submerges his classic comic persona and allows Vincent’s complex
character flaws to surface and wallow in the fresh (?) air of Long Island. The role could have been another classic turn
by Jack Nicholson (think As Good As It Gets),
but Murray rises to the challenge, whether he is giving garage lessons
in self defense to Oliver (serious Murray) or trying to keep up with Bob Dylan
singing ”Shelter from the Storm” (clown Murray).
Melissa
McCarthy leaves her fat girl shtick behind in her portrayal of Maggie, the mother trying to juggle her long hour
career with raising Oliver (and perhaps Vincent) while fending off her
philandering husband's custody overtures. Her role is one too many people can relate: vulnerable in a chaotic
situation with a growing toughness that will serve her well. Chris O’Dowd also does well as Oliver’s
parochial school teacher, Brother Geraghty, as he oversees a melting pot of
different religions and ethnics in his class. On the adult side, the melting pot is represented by Vincent’s lady of
the evening friend, Daka, portrayed by Naomi Watts with a thick Russian accent.
Jaeden
Lieberher plays Oliver wonderfully in his feature film debut. Another role to which nearly everyone can relate: bullied and stolen from at school, Oliver learns the tricks of maturing in
the street very quickly. A moment of
complete drama (and the first signs of Vincent’s redemption) happens when the
older man teaches his young charge that taking advantage of a candy machine is
(technically) stealing. Oliver absorbs
all of his lessons while retaining just enough innocence to remember that the
heart is most important.
We should
have a moment of silence and praise St. Vincent. We should hold our copies of the racing form
to our foreheads and pray that this gem is not forgotten in the coming awards
season.
(Thank you
for reading. And now Bob Dylan will sing
music to water your bare yard by…)