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Violet (2021 film)

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Violet
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJustine Bateman
Written byJustine Bateman
Produced by
  • Justine Bateman
  • Larry Hummel
  • Michael D. Jones
  • Matt Paul
Starring
CinematographyMark Williams
Edited byJay Friedkin
Music byVUM
Production
company
Section 5
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 18, 2021 (2021-03-18) (SXSW)
  • October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Violet is a 2021 American drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Justine Bateman in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey and Justin Theroux.

Violet follows Violet Morton, a 32-year-old film executive who is living her life listening to her fear (“The Voice”). She has made these fear-based decisions to avoid potential “worst-case scenarios” in her romantic life, her family life, and her professional life. These decisions have taken her away from who she really is. She has grown accustomed to not being quite herself, and sees nothing amiss, until a friend’s comment makes her realize that The Voice has been lying to her, her entire life.

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 18, 2021. It was released in theaters in a limited release on October 29, 2021, prior to video on demand on November 9, 2021, by Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures.

Plot

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Violet (Olivia Munn) works as the head of production for a film company and is incredibly successful. However due to a perpetual voice in her head (Justin Theroux) she finds herself deeply insecure.

The Voice (a male one, representing Violet's negative thoughts) consistently guides Violet's career and personal decisions and discourages her from confiding in her friends. When Violet runs into Martin Woods, her ex-boyfriend of seven years ago, The Voice tells her that Martin finds her stupid and encourages her to insult him to level the playing field.

Later on, at work, Violet's boss, Tom Gaines, compliments her on her work and recalls a project she had worked on earlier, Fox Run, an experimental film based on a book of poetry. When Violet opens up about what she loves about the project he initially seems receptive, but later uses the information to denigrate her, revealing he will never back the film.

Violet later confides to her childhood friend Red she is afraid of doing things wrong as it leaves her feeling unsafe and he encourages her to make mistakes.

Violet begins defying The Voice. She reaches out to Martin to apologize for being rude to him and he forgives her and also apologizes for his role in their breakup. She decides to ignore the calls from the powerful film executive she had been seeing and begins a relationship with Red.

When Tom Gaines humiliates Violet at work by revealing that she was sleeping with the executive, Violet pushes back telling him she is responsible for the success of his company. When he fires her, she immediately reaches out to financiers she knows who are looking to expand into production, and is able to become their President of Production. The new company is enthusiastic about Fox Run and Violet works to make it her next film.

Just as things seem to be going well for Violet, she learns that her estranged mother has died. While she initially books a flight to go to the funeral, Violet realizes that there is no reason to go back, as the majority of her family is cruel and abusive towards her.

Violet's brother calls her to confront her for missing the funeral, and she finally cuts him off. The Voice tells Violet she will be alone forever and then die. Violet realizes the voice is lying; she is finally free.

Cast

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Production

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In March 2018, Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux had joined the cast of the film, with Justine Bateman directing from a screenplay she wrote.[2] In July 2019, Luke Bracey joined the cast of the film.[3] In August 2019, Jason Dohring, Zachary Gordon and Laura San Giacomo joined the cast of the film.[4][5] In September 2019, Todd Stashwick joined the cast of the film.[6]

Principal photography began in August 2019.[7]

Release

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Violet had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 18, 2021.[8] It was previously set to hold its premiere at the festival the year before; however, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] In July 2021, Relativity Media acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[11] The Exchange handled foreign sales for the film.[12]

It had its international premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021.[13] It was released in a limited release on October 29, 2021, prior to video on demand on November 9, 2021.[14]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 78 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Uneven yet admirably ambitious, Violet takes a thoughtful look at the occasionally profound difference between a person's private thoughts and public face."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Violet". South by Southwest. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. ^ McNary, Dave (March 27, 2018). "Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux Join Justine Bateman's Drama 'Violet' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  3. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (July 17, 2019). "'Hacksaw Ridge' Actor Luke Bracey Joins Olivia Munn & Justin Theroux In 'Violet' Indie From Justine Bateman". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  4. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (August 9, 2019). "'Veronica Mars' Jason Dohring, Zachary Gordon Cast In 'Violet' Drama Starring Olivia Munn". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Bateman, Justine (August 12, 2019). "Adding to the list of awesome actors on #VIOLETthefilm, the great #LauraSanGiacomo. End of Week Two. (Photo by Joe Pro)". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  6. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 12, 2019). "Todd Stashwick Joins 'Violet' & 'Love, Weddings & Other Disasters'; TJ Atoms Cast In 'The 40-Year-Old Version'; D'Ambrosio Twins In 'Slapface' Indie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Bateman, Justine (August 12, 2019). "Week One done. Me and the great @tailstix #VIOLETthefilm (photo by JoePro)". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  8. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (January 14, 2021). "SXSW Sets 'Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil' As Film Festival Opener; Unveils Program Highlights". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Ray-Ramos, Dino (January 15, 2020). "SXSW Sets Judd Apatow's 'The King Of Staten Island' As Opening-Night Film, Unveils Features And Episodics Lineups". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events". South by Southwest. March 6, 2020. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 1, 2021). "Justine Bateman Feature Directorial Debut 'Violet' Picked Up By Relativity Media". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Kay, Jeremy (August 20, 2021). "The Exchange Boards Sales on Upcoming TIFF Premiere 'Violet' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2021-07-20). "Toronto Film Festival Lineup Adds 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' and 'Clifford the Big Red Dog'". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  14. ^ D’Alessandro, Anthony (September 17, 2021). "Justine Bateman Feature Directorial Debut 'Violet' Sets Fall Theatrical Release – TIFF". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "Violet". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 6, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "Violet". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
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