The Vicious Kind
| The Vicious Kind | |
|---|---|
 Promotional film poster |
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| Directed by | Lee Toland Krieger |
| Written by | Lee Toland Krieger |
| Starring | Adam Scott Brittany Snow J.K. Simmons Alex Frost |
| Distributed by | 72nd Street Productions |
| Release date(s) | 2009 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
The Vicious Kind is a 2009 drama film directed and written by Lee Toland Krieger. The screenplay was originally set in a small town in Rhode Island, but the film was shot in Norfolk, CT, which also became the character's hometown. The film stars Adam Scott, Brittany Snow, Alex Frost and J.K. Simmons. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and opened in Los Angeles on December 11, 2009 at the Laemlle Sunset 5.
"The Vicious Kind" has been nominated for two 2010 Independent Spirit Awards, Scott for Best Male Lead, and Krieger for Best Screenplay.[1] In 2009, "The Vicious Kind" won several awards at film festivals around the world including Adam Scott for Best Actor at the Strasbourg International Film Festival,[2] Scott for Best Performance at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival,[3] Lee Toland Krieger for Emerging Filmmaker at the Denver Film Festival,[4] and Best Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival.[5]
On December 9, 2009 Adam Scott discussed "The Vicious Kind" in an interview with New York Magazine.[6] MovieLine.com also posted an interview with Scott regarding "The Vicious Kind" on December 8, 2009.[7] Brittany Snow discussed "The Vicious Kind" in an episode of Famous Hangers featured on Myspace December 1, 2009.[8]
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[edit] Plot
Caleb Sinclaire is sitting in a diner, forlorn and smoking a cigarette. He begins to cry, but composes himself when he sees his younger brother Peter, a college student on Thanksgiving break whom Caleb is giving a ride home, arrive. Peter has found a new girlfriend, Emma Gainsborough, and Caleb immediately grills him for details, beginning to show a misogynistic attitude. Emma and Peter met each other while Emma was on campus meeting some fraternity boys; while Peter says she’s a good girl and nothing happened, Caleb immediately perceives her as a whore who was cheating on her boyfriend to be with Peter. On the way to get Emma, Caleb reveals he hasn't slept in a week.
They arrive at Emma’s house; although she comes off as a sweet girl, Caleb is immediately antagonistic to her. Caleb drops them off at his father, Donald’s house. Donald comes off as a well-meaning polite father, consistently praising Emma. Caleb meanwhile, has been trying to sleep, but keeps seeing images of his last girlfriend, Hannah, who behaves and looks strikingly similar to Emma. Hannah has continuously called Caleb, which tortures him, and to get her off his back, drops off pictures of himself having sex with a prostitute named Samantha at her doorstep, ringing the bell and fleeing.
Caleb, a construction worker, arrives at work and belittles fellow worker JT, who looks up to him. Later, Emma and Peter go bowling and Caleb, who is there with the other workers, secretly watches them. Emma later approaches him asking for cigarettes, revealing she secretly smokes. Caleb eventually obliges; Emma asking him to promise not to tell this to Peter, and Caleb asking her to not reveal he was there to Peter or Donald.
Later Caleb is at a grocery store and runs into Emma. He ends up viciously physically and verbally attacking her, calling her a whore, believing she’s slept with the frat boys at school, and threatens her not to hurt Peter, who is a good kid (and a virgin). Moments later in the car however, he breaks down ashamed of his actions and goes back to her, begging her forgiveness and not to tell anyone what happened. Confused and outraged, Emma punches him and they go separate ways.
That night, Emma sneaks out for a cigarette, and meets Caleb who tried sneaking over with a camera. Emma wants an explanation on what happened earlier at the grocery store: Caleb goes into his belief on what he heard about her at school, his girlfriend Hannah who cheated on him, and his lack of sleep, which has further muddled his actions and behavior. Caleb eventually leaves, feeling better after these confessions.
The next morning, Donald and Emma go jogging together. Emma asks about Peter’s mother, and Donald reveals that she died when Caleb and Peter were young and cheated on Donald. Everyone that heard felt betrayed, and when she was diagnosed with cancer, no one came to visit her in the hospital the last four months of her life. At work, Caleb reveals he managed to fall asleep for a few brief minutes the night before. Later, Donald, Peter and Emma are outside when Donald almost accidentally shoots Caleb, who has snuck over with a camera, mistaking him for a raccoon. Donald demands he leave at once.
At a restaurant, Caleb, Peter and Emma are together. Caleb and Emma get a few moments alone, and Caleb assures her that he doesn’t have feeling for her. Emma is just confused by his bizarre actions, and Caleb ends up forcibly kissing her. Emma says nothing about it to Peter, as Caleb drops them off. He does however, get a few minutes alone with Peter, warning him to watch Emma carefully, because “she’s looking at me”. Peter says he’s in love with her, and Caleb laughs and scoffs at the idea, but nevertheless praises his brother. Caleb apologizes for his ideas that she was a whore and says that he wants to look after him.
While Peter and Emma prepare to have intercourse, Peter reveals that what Donald told her is true, except that Caleb was the only one to actually see his mother before she died, and Caleb and Donald haven’t spoken to each other since then. Caleb goes to see Samantha, and asks her if it’s normal to be in love with a perceived image of someone, even if that’s not who they really are (likening Emma to Hannah). Caleb waits outside the house and Emma goes outside for a smoke. Caleb tries apologizing for kissing her and says he’ll try not to bother her anymore. Emma reveals she’s actually locked outside the house, and Caleb manages to get them both inside through a window. Emma falls on top of Caleb, and they seem like they might be about to kiss. But she rebukes him and asks him never to see her again. Caleb returns to his car, and Emma begins to masturbate in Caleb's old room in the house.
At work, Caleb is feeling like he needs a change and leaves work, uncaring if he gets fired. At a bar, JT asks Caleb if he’s had sex with Emma yet, and he says no, but he wants to. He spots some men sexually harassing a woman and ends up fighting them, marking a change in him and a new outlook on women. Caleb knows he’s running out of time to say or do anything to Emma. However, he confesses to JT that he feels torn out of his need to try to protect Peter. Meanwhile, Peter has been trying, again, to have sex with Emma but finds himself having difficulty and gives up. Caleb drives over to see Emma, and this time, she doesn’t rebuke him when he kisses her, and eventually, end up having sex together.
Emma asks why Caleb was the only one to see his mother before she died: He reveals he was just as hurt by her actions as anyone, and shut her out of his life. However, he eventually discovered that Donald had actually been the one cheating on her until she finally had enough. Caleb never told Peter because he was too young. Caleb laughs because he used to think Emma never had sex before, until her expression shows that she actually was a virgin before. He immediately gets up to leave, reminding her that Peter is in love with her. On his way out, he runs into Donald who deduces what happened and says he’ll tell Peter. Caleb says that he won’t because he’s also his son as well, and calls him a coward for erasing him out of his life for finding out what he did; in the last 8 years, he’s only lived two miles away from his house, yet he never attempted to re-enter his life. They both hide quickly as Peter goes to Emma’s room, and Caleb says that he won’t tell Peter what he did, otherwise he’ll tell him Donald’s secrets and he’ll lose both his sons. Peter and Emma sleep together, and he at last, loses his virginity to her.
The next morning, Donald drives them to the train-station back to school. Donald confesses to that he’s made mistakes to Peter, and that sometimes, people know what they are doing is wrong but they do it anyway, because the right thing is painful. On the train, Peter tells Emma he loves her, but it causes Emma to cry. The two of them alone again, Caleb rings Donald’s doorbell and Donald invites him in, their relationship beginning to mend at last.
[edit] Cast
- Adam Scott as Caleb Sinclaire
- Brittany Snow as Emma
- J.K. Simmons as Donald Sinclaire
- Alex Frost as Peter Sinclaire
- Alysia Reiner as Samantha
- Jordan Berkow as Hannah
[edit] References
- ^ Hernandez, Eugene (2009-12-01). "Spirit Awards: The Nominees". indieWire. http://www.indiewire.com/article/spirit_awards_the_nominees/.
- ^ "Awards Announced 2009". http://www.strasbourgfilmfest.com/siff09-awards.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ Swan, Ginger (2009-09-27). "Sidewalk Awards: And the winner is...". blog.al.com. http://blog.al.com/zoomout/2009/09/sidewalk_awards_and_the_winner.html.
- ^ "Festival News". http://www.denverfilm.org/festival/news/detail.aspx?NID=150&FID=49&year=2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ "2009 NOFF AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED!". http://www.neworleansfilmfest.com/news/2009-noff-award-winners-announced.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ Ryan, Mike (2009-12-09). "The Vicious Kind’s Adam Scott on His Spirit Nod and Party Down’s Next Season". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/12/the_vicious_kinds_adam_scott_o.html.
- ^ Buchanan, Ryan (2009-12-08). "Adam Scott Is Surprised He Got That Indie Spirit Nomination, Too". MovieLine.com. http://www.movieline.com/2009/12/adam-scott-the-movieline-interview.php.
- ^ "Famous Hangers with Brittany Snow". http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=101086296. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
