SXSW Online 2021: Violation Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s SXSW Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Following the release of 2020’s major award-contender Promising Young Woman, the female revenge movie has struck a chord with audiences. Suffice it to say that Violation, ever since its premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, takes that to another level though one that is sure to not sit well with most audiences. This atmospheric thriller is an unsettling slow burn giving off an uneasy feeling that something was never quite right with the picture. Meanwhile, the palpable sense of dread from some beautiful albeit dark cinematography that lingers and a constantly booming and ominous score only added to that general uneasiness. While the film could have used some more depth, it definitely succeeds at driving across emotion in a way that is hard to not look away. Though its subject matter is sure to turn audiences off, its nonlinear storytelling may also be a dealbreaker and will take some getting used to.

Violation tells the story of a woman on the verge of divorce named Miriam (Sims-Fewer) who reunites with her estranged sister Greta (Maguire). However, a betrayal from Greta and her brother-in-law Dylan (LaVercombe) sets her on a dark path of revenge. Is it immediately clear that something happened to cause that disconnect between sisters and that truth behind what led to that wedge was slowly revealed until Miriam finally enacted that revenge. Whether or not that moment succeeds depends on the audience’s ability to connect with Miriam and her actions. Miriam was arguably not a good person, what happened to her was very real and how she went about her revenge will most definitely not be for sensitive viewers. However, the film also lessens the impact of that by stretching it out too long. Nevertheless, the best part of the film was Sims-Fewer’s incredibly raw performance as Miriam, putting every ounce of herself on screen.

At the end of the day, those looking for a revenge movie that packs a punch Violation may be for them.

still courtesy of Pacific Northwest Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.