When "Ben Manalowitz" (auteur B J Novak) gets a phone call, he leaves his New York home to travel to a remote desert community to find out what happened to a girl he had once hooked up with. Upon arrival he realises that this could be the subject for a serious podcast and so sets out to find her killer - at the behest of her brother "Ty" (Boyd Holbrook) - and simultaneously to offer an analysis of just how these folks live their lives - such a contrast to the style of fast-paced urban dwelling he is used to, and manna from heaven to his producer "Eloise" (Issa Rae). The storyline itself is rather procedural, but there is a decent degree of humour in this film - especially starting with the man-to-man chat at the top of the film which shows neither in a particularly good light. Thereafter some sparingly entertaining contributions from Ashton Kutcher help ginger this along in a sort of film noir style. The quirkiness of the townsfolk's real existence - centred largely around a burger bar; the characterful personalities and an equally effective score from Finneas O'Connell all help to generate a decently paced and quite compelling mystery that I found myself drawn into more than I was expecting. Novak isn't a great actor, but the writing - ultimately offering us an opportunity to evaluate his character and his flaws as much as of anyone else; the developing scenarios and the whole sense of mischief here do most of the heavy lifting allowing us to enjoy the concept without necessarily having to appreciate the acting scene by scene. I really did rather like the ending too.

**Vengeance is a decent movie with big questions, funny moments, and endearing characters that loses itself in trying to do too many things all at once.**

Vengeance wears a lot of hats (or stetsons, I guess). It begins as comedy, then social and political commentary, murder whodunit, and existential evaluation. Growing up in a small western town made parts of the story even more endearing and slightly offensive. The Whataburger and football jokes are 100% true in the heartland of the USA. Thankfully, the lead character's judgmental tone when he first arrives in this tiny Texas town shifts as he develops respect and affection for the people he interviews and befriends. Vengeance tries to be many things and gets messy in parts where it tries to be a little too clever, but there are parts where it pulls it off as well. I enjoyed where the story ended as the lead finds purpose and family after facing the reality of his own emptiness, loneliness, and pretentiousness. I appreciate what this movie was trying to do with its pursuit of truth and meaning, but it probably tried a little too hard, leaving me with an unsatisfied feeling as the credits rolled.

This is B. J. Novak's theatrical debut as a triple threat writer/director/actor. I always take a particular interest in these types of films, as they are probably the closest that Hollywood ever gets to delivering a truly singular artistic vision. So, how successful was Mr. Novak's vision? It's interesting, this was a case where I really think the writing is what carried the day. The story is clever and compelling, with plenty of thought provoking ideas and commentary. The meta aspect of the podcast allows the film to include both self-aware pseudo-intellectual musings, as well as more genuine intellectual musings. In both cases, the dialogue is well written and the performances excellent. The movie's humor is also plentiful and well executed, never feeling out of place with the mystery/thriller elements. As far as story criticisms go, I do think the finale feels a bit too Hollywood, but the execution is good enough that it still works.

Regarding the acting, B. J. Novak was good in the central role, but I really enjoyed the ensemble. Having just watched Boyd Holbrook on Netflix's _The Sandman_, it was entertaining to see him playing such a different role, and I thought he was excellent. I was also surprised to enjoy Ashton Kutcher's scenes.

Finally, on the direction, my gut reaction is to call it serviceable. I'm no expert, but it just seemed pretty unambitious and straightforward. At the end of the day, it doesn't add or detract from the film. It just captures the story, which is all it needed to do. Regardless, as long as Mr. Novak can keep writing stories this well, I'll keep watching his films.