In 2014 Dan Gilroy, Rene Russo and Hollywood's most under appreciated actors, at least from an awards stand point, Jake Gyllenhaal team up for the first time since Night crawler to give us Velvet Buzzsaw. Velvet Buzzsaw is a movie that takes a look at the seedy art world of Los Angeles. Riddle with drugs, booze and a whole lot of back stabbing, Velvet Buzzsaw comes across a tad cynical at times but also works as a stark contrast to Gilroy's Night crawler which spent a lot of its time in the darkness. Here in Velvet Buzzsaw we spend a lot of time in the bright L.A. sun and yet the characters are equally as dark and twisted almost as if they have seeped in from the world of Night crawler.
Velvet Buzzsaw follows Morf, a highly successful art critic who stumbles upon a dead artists art work and it resonates with him on a very deep level in fact, it resonates with everyone! The art begins to absorb the entirety of the L.A. art world and slowly consumes those who have a part in their sale. The art work in question acts as a horror villain here in Buzzsaw, twisting the world around those it seeks to kill and brutally murders them in some pretty unique ways.
The movie has an incredible cast and Gilroy does a great job of directing as always. That said, the film never fully embraces its horror elements yet never quite fulfills it messages that its clearly out to send the viewer instead they just get lost by the time the credits roll. this was a genuine shame as Night crawler does an incredible job of selling the version of L.A. that Gilroy was out to portray in a very clear fashion whist also being a far deeper and more engaging movie.
I was hoping this was going to be the Netflix Original movie that would fully deliver the way we've come to expect from Netflix unfortunately it once again delivers a middling experience.
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