For those who enjoy quintessential indie films about dysfunctional families, you might want to give 'The Vicious Kind' a nice peek. The film's protagonist is Caleb, who has become a full-blown misogynist after being dumped by another girlfriend. Caleb is one step away from being a stalker and maybe a couple more steps away from becoming a serial killer. When we first meet him, he's picking his brother Peter up at school and driving him to see their father who he hasn't talked to in eight years. He's not afraid to express to his brother, his deeply held conviction that all women are "whores". In a flashback, we see Caleb leaving some photos he took of his girlfriend while having sex together, under her door and driving away.
On the way to the family home, Caleb and Peter pick up Peter's new girlfriend, Emma. True to form, Caleb acts boorishly towards Emma who's puzzled why he's so hostile. Caleb leaves Peter and Emma at the entrance to the driveway since he doesn't want to run into his father. Father Donald is almost as boorish as Caleb; he makes inappropriate comments to Emma laced with sexual innuendo at the dinner table. Peter passively rebukes the father who doesn't seem to take any hints.
Caleb soon becomes fixated on Emma in a love-hate sort of way. In their first encounter alone at a supermarket, Caleb chokes Emma and threatens to kill her if she does anything to 'hurt' his brother. Outside, Caleb collects himself and apologizes to Emma, who answers by slugging him in the face. Some time later, Caleb confuses Emma by showing a more sensitive side (they share a cigarette together on the porch at night while Peter and their father are inside sleeping).
But Caleb can't suppress his fixation on Emma. He shows up with a camera hiding in the woods and the father mistakes him for a raccoon and almost shoots him with a rifle. Soon we learn that it's not only the fact that Caleb has been rejected by women that accounts for his extreme emotional problems. It seems that after their mother had an affair with another man years ago, she left Donald and he then prevented her from seeing the children (the father's story is that the mother chose not to see the kids). Caleb knows about his father's dishonesty but never told Peter who was 12 years old at the time. Caleb was the only family member to see the mother when she was dying of cancer and that's the reason why he and his father hadn't talked to one another for eight years.
Caleb continues the pattern of showing his contempt for Emma and then apologizing. This goes on until the night Emma accidentally locks herself out of the family home and asks Caleb to help get back in. He knows a way of jimmying the window on the side of the house; as they enter through the window, they end up tripping and Caleb falls on top of Emma. Here is the moment when you think Emma is going to give in to Caleb but instead she tells him she never wants to see him again.
Her intense dislike for Caleb melts when Peter turns out to be hopeless in bed as he is an inexperienced virgin. Caleb can't resist coming over to the house one more time and this time he hits pay dirt. After masturbating continuously, Emma is desperate for sex and finally cannot deny she's been attracted to Caleb all along. The bad boy triumphs and they have some very good sex together. Donald catches Caleb outside the room where Emma is collecting herself and threatens to tell Peter that Caleb has been having sex with his girlfriend. Caleb turns the tables on his father and threatens to tell Peter that he kept them from their mother when they young. An uneasy truce unfolds.
The denouement holds some redemption for Caleb who reconciles with his father. Donald is also able to 'open up' as he tells Peter that he made mistakes in the past but essentially loves him. The damage however is done for Peter and Emma's relationship; on the way back to school, Peter whispers in Emma's ear that he loves her. Emma can only stare straight ahead with a tiny tear dripping down her face—she knows that she can never go for a wimpy guy like Peter, especially after she's had such a good time with his bad boy brother.
'The Vicious Kind' has one major defect: the undeveloped and essentially bland portrait of brother Peter. Where the rest of the ensemble, Caleb, Emma and Donald, are all engaging characters, we find out little about Peter. Why for example is Emma even attracted to him in the first place? And why he is so passive in the face of the boorish behaviors of his brother and father? He's essentially a punching bag who's continually manipulated and humiliated by his brother. Why doesn't he take a stand at any point? His passivity is never explained and he seems only to exist as a uninvolved counterweight to Caleb's aggression.
Brittany Fox is brilliant as the confused Emma who perfectly illustrates that women are attracted to 'bad boys' and not wimps. Adam Scott effectively conveys a young man teetering on the brink of a complete nervous breakdown. He and J.K. Simmons ably convey the dual nature of both father and son: both are damaged goods but manage to redeem themselves through love at the film's end. Vittorio Braham as J.T., Caleb's construction worker friend, does a fine job of depicting a young man with obvious learning disabilities but one who is also a loyal and supportive companion.
I doubt that the 'The Vicious Kind' will have much commercial success in mainstream movie theaters due to its dark, misogynistic theme, but as a nice little indie ensemble piece, it rightly fits the bill.
On the way to the family home, Caleb and Peter pick up Peter's new girlfriend, Emma. True to form, Caleb acts boorishly towards Emma who's puzzled why he's so hostile. Caleb leaves Peter and Emma at the entrance to the driveway since he doesn't want to run into his father. Father Donald is almost as boorish as Caleb; he makes inappropriate comments to Emma laced with sexual innuendo at the dinner table. Peter passively rebukes the father who doesn't seem to take any hints.
Caleb soon becomes fixated on Emma in a love-hate sort of way. In their first encounter alone at a supermarket, Caleb chokes Emma and threatens to kill her if she does anything to 'hurt' his brother. Outside, Caleb collects himself and apologizes to Emma, who answers by slugging him in the face. Some time later, Caleb confuses Emma by showing a more sensitive side (they share a cigarette together on the porch at night while Peter and their father are inside sleeping).
But Caleb can't suppress his fixation on Emma. He shows up with a camera hiding in the woods and the father mistakes him for a raccoon and almost shoots him with a rifle. Soon we learn that it's not only the fact that Caleb has been rejected by women that accounts for his extreme emotional problems. It seems that after their mother had an affair with another man years ago, she left Donald and he then prevented her from seeing the children (the father's story is that the mother chose not to see the kids). Caleb knows about his father's dishonesty but never told Peter who was 12 years old at the time. Caleb was the only family member to see the mother when she was dying of cancer and that's the reason why he and his father hadn't talked to one another for eight years.
Caleb continues the pattern of showing his contempt for Emma and then apologizing. This goes on until the night Emma accidentally locks herself out of the family home and asks Caleb to help get back in. He knows a way of jimmying the window on the side of the house; as they enter through the window, they end up tripping and Caleb falls on top of Emma. Here is the moment when you think Emma is going to give in to Caleb but instead she tells him she never wants to see him again.
Her intense dislike for Caleb melts when Peter turns out to be hopeless in bed as he is an inexperienced virgin. Caleb can't resist coming over to the house one more time and this time he hits pay dirt. After masturbating continuously, Emma is desperate for sex and finally cannot deny she's been attracted to Caleb all along. The bad boy triumphs and they have some very good sex together. Donald catches Caleb outside the room where Emma is collecting herself and threatens to tell Peter that Caleb has been having sex with his girlfriend. Caleb turns the tables on his father and threatens to tell Peter that he kept them from their mother when they young. An uneasy truce unfolds.
The denouement holds some redemption for Caleb who reconciles with his father. Donald is also able to 'open up' as he tells Peter that he made mistakes in the past but essentially loves him. The damage however is done for Peter and Emma's relationship; on the way back to school, Peter whispers in Emma's ear that he loves her. Emma can only stare straight ahead with a tiny tear dripping down her face—she knows that she can never go for a wimpy guy like Peter, especially after she's had such a good time with his bad boy brother.
'The Vicious Kind' has one major defect: the undeveloped and essentially bland portrait of brother Peter. Where the rest of the ensemble, Caleb, Emma and Donald, are all engaging characters, we find out little about Peter. Why for example is Emma even attracted to him in the first place? And why he is so passive in the face of the boorish behaviors of his brother and father? He's essentially a punching bag who's continually manipulated and humiliated by his brother. Why doesn't he take a stand at any point? His passivity is never explained and he seems only to exist as a uninvolved counterweight to Caleb's aggression.
Brittany Fox is brilliant as the confused Emma who perfectly illustrates that women are attracted to 'bad boys' and not wimps. Adam Scott effectively conveys a young man teetering on the brink of a complete nervous breakdown. He and J.K. Simmons ably convey the dual nature of both father and son: both are damaged goods but manage to redeem themselves through love at the film's end. Vittorio Braham as J.T., Caleb's construction worker friend, does a fine job of depicting a young man with obvious learning disabilities but one who is also a loyal and supportive companion.
I doubt that the 'The Vicious Kind' will have much commercial success in mainstream movie theaters due to its dark, misogynistic theme, but as a nice little indie ensemble piece, it rightly fits the bill.