The poster for Vengeance: A Love Story is almost as generic as the title. Despite appearances, it has a little bit more going for it than your average Nicolas Cage DTV flick. That is both a blessing and a curse. Those who want a light and breezy night of entertainment are bound to be disappointed by the heavy subject matter and overall depressing atmosphere. I applaud Cage for trying some a bit more downbeat, even if it doesn’t all quite come together.
Cage stars as a widowed cop named John who is getting over the death of his partner in the line of duty. While at a bar, he strikes up a polite conversation with Teena (Anna Hutchison), herself a widower, who is raising her young daughter, Bethie (Talitha Eliana Bateman). After a party, Teena is accosted by some rednecks and Bethie is forced to watch as the men violently rape her. It seems like an open and shut case, but the rapists hire a slick lawyer (Don Fuckin’ Johnson) to do some judicial voodoo and have them acquitted. John, the detective on the case, soon sets out to see that justice is done.
This is probably Cage’s most somber performance in a long time, which suits the material. He is quite good in his scenes with Hutchison, who gives a heartbreaking performance. It’s Don Johnson who steals the show as the sleazy lawyer. The scene where he argues that his clients pay him every cent that’s coming to him is especially memorable.
Those hoping for the usual Cagey theatrics are likely to be blindsided by Vengeance: A Love Story. What is most surprising is the way that it concentrates on the lingering aftershocks of such a brutal assault. Most movies would rush right into the vengeance portion of the plot (and you would think this would too given the fact that the title is Vengeance: A Love Story). However, director Johnny (Hangman) Martin handles the subject with sensitivity and wisely gives the film a little time to breath, allowing Hutchison a few scenes to express a wide range of emotions during her struggle to regain normalcy.
It is not a perfect movie to be sure. The way the script unnecessarily tries to stack the deck is borderline comical. The asshole judge and the jeering courtroom visitors are way too on-the-nose and almost cartoony. If the script was a bit subtler in this section, the film could’ve been even more powerful. Johnson, it must be said, is very good in this scene, but even though his character is reprehensible and slimy, somehow the judge and crowd seem way worse. Also, there really isn’t any “Love Story” in Vengeance: A Love Story. They should’ve just called it Vengeance.
The scenes of Cage exacting revenge aren’t so much crowd-pleasing as they are inevitable. (OK, maybe the first one is.) It hits the right note though as you get the feeling that Cage will be living with his deeds for a long time. As far as his recent DTV work goes, this is the one of his best.
AKA: Vengeance.
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