By JUSTIN CHANG

Before it bogs down in one too many moments of cathartic reckoning, "The Vicious Kind" is an unpredictable, off-kilter and scabrously funny piece of work. Anchored by Adam Scott's searing performance as an emotionally brutal and brutalized young man who's more like his hated father than he cares to admit, this barbed four-character piece bears the fingerprints of exec producer Neil LaBute in its blistering dialogue, but also heralds sophomore writer-director Lee Toland Krieger ("December Ends") as a talent worth watching well after the pic's likely modest commercial run.

The pic establishes its m.o. in the arresting opening scene, in which bearded construction worker Caleb Sinclaire (Scott), sitting in a diner with his kid brother Peter (Alex Frost), unleashes a withering monologue targeting women in general and Peter's reputedly promiscuous g.f. Emma (Brittany Snow) in particular. Rancid misogyny is rarely this colorfully written and forcefully acted, and Scott's brilliant delivery, replete with tasty vulgarities and sarcastic asides, whets our appetites for more.

Krieger focuses more intently on dialogue and character interaction than on exposition, and "The Vicious Kind" is bracing in the way it gives no initial indication of where it's headed. Details are parceled out gradually: Caleb is driving Peter home from college for Thanksgiving, stopping along the way to pick up Emma, whose attempts to befriend Caleb are curtly rebuffed. After dropping off Peter and Emma, Caleb doesn't stick around for the holiday festivities, as he hasn't spoken to dad Donald (J.K. Simmons) in the eight years since his mother's death.

Sweet, trusting Peter is crazy about Emma and all too ready to lose his virginity. But Krieger juxtaposes this innocent desire with a series of tense, hostile yet sexually charged encounters between Caleb and Emma, who happens to bear a striking resemblance to Caleb's two-timing ex-girlfriend. As secrets and recriminations multiply on all sides, the story's ultimately redemptive thrust becomes more apparent, but the high quality of the performances and dialogue keep the film from falling victim to its dysfunctional-family-reunion trappings.

Best known for his colorful supporting turns, Scott proves more than up to the challenge of a juicy lead role: He spits out Krieger's whip-smart one-liners with terrific gusto, but also powerfully embodies a man torn between lust and hatred, between his drives to protect as well as betray his brother. Snow, sporting black hair and heavy eye shadow, flirts with a seductive goth-girl stereotype and triumphantly deepens it.

Rounding out the pitch-perfect ensemble are the versatile Frost, in a winning change of pace after his uniquely terrifying turns in "Elephant" and "Drillbit Taylor," and Simmons, who leavens his typically boisterous comic shenanigans with a real sense of Donald's personal foibles.

Tech credits are pro, particularly the widescreen lensing of scenic Connecticut locales.

1. •“‘The Vicious Kind’ is an unpredictable, off-kilter and scabrously funny piece of work, anchored by Adam Scott's searing performance.” -- Justin Chang, Variety
   

1. •“The highlight is the star-making performance of Adam Scott as the troubled Caleb who is recovering from a bad breakup and finds himself smitten with his younger brother’s girlfriend” -- Jonathan Hickman, E-insiders.com
   

1. •“I ended up liking it so much, I watched it twice.” -- Kim Voynars, Movie City News
   

1. •“Features a knock-out peformance by Adam Scott” -- Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
   

1. •“The most entertaining Neil LaBute film he never made.” -- Aaron Hillis, LA Weekly
   

1. • “‘The Vicious Kind’ heralds writer-director Lee Toland Krieger as a talent worth watching -- Justin Chang, Variety
   

1. •“An unforgettable opening monologue.” -- The Playlist.com

:: Recommended ::

The Vicious Kind

D/W: Lee Toland Krieger; with Adam Scott, Alex Frost, Brittany Snow, J.K. Simmons.

Adam Scott plays construction worker Caleb, a fuckup with a code (why are the fuckups always the most righteous?) and deep bruise marks from a recent breakup. According to Caleb's backward logic, in order to protect his younger brother, Peter (Frost), he has to hurt him, which can only spell trouble when Peter brings home a comely, complicated girlfriend (Snow) for Thanksgiving dinner at the fractious house of their dad (Simmons). "Vicious" understates: This fourpiece character study can turn downright toxic in its tunnelings into sexual and familial dynamics. It's also funny, likably profane, and smart enough to skirt away (if not entirely avoid) the built-in expectations of its premise. Krieger mentored with Neil LaBute, who executive produces, and while there's a mutual inclination toward acid-bath colloquy, Krieger's outlook is significantly more hopeful, at least for his male characters. (Krieger's a more artful imagist, too.) Still, the pivotal character of Caleb – manic, misogynistic, self-absorbed, and striking out like a wounded animal – would grow tedious were it not for the deft touch of Scott, an underrated character actor (Party Down, Tell Me You Love Me). He's sensational here, and somebody should just make a movie star out of the guy already. – K.J.

:: MOVIE CITY NEWS ::

The Vicious Kind

by Kim Voynar

Lee Krieger's second feature, The Vicious Kind, is a tale of forgiveness and redemption told through the character of Caleb Sinclaire (Adam Scott), an intensely unpleasant construction worker whose bitterness and misogyny masks a deeply wounded man whose outward anger acts as a shield against the world.

Caleb is in the throes of heartache after being cheated on by his girlfriend, and when younger brother Peter (Alex Frost) brings his new girlfriend Emma (Brittany Snow) home for Thanksgiving, he warns Peter that she will break his heart. But when he meets Emma, Caleb finds himself intensely attracted to her and struggles with his conflicting emotions around not wanting to hurt his brother and obsessing over Emma.

Scott turns in a powerful performance as Caleb, who vacillates between outbursts of violent, irrational anger and apologetic platitudes. I expected within the first ten minutes to completely loathe this character, but Scott's performance manages to make this outwardly unlikable man deeply sympathetic. Caleb acts and reacts like and abused child or wounded animal; he lashes out seemingly without provocation, threatening Emma one minute and trying to kiss her the next. His behavior feels completely random and on the edge; one minute he's talking about how all women are whores who will break your heart, but the next he's beating up a group of guys at a bar for being rude to a woman there. He talks tough and avoids relationships with most people, but his one friend is a gentle mentally disabled man who idolizes him, and while he's rude to his brother and taunts him, he's also fiercely protective of him.

The estranged relationship between Caleb and his father (J.K. Simmons) adds another intricate layer to the puzzle of who he is. Caleb doesn't speak to his father, he refers to him only as "Donald," and when he shows up at his father's house, Donald threatens to shoot him if he turns up on his property again. Yet for all that he pretends not to care about his father, Caleb stalks the house, seeking a connection with his father that's long since been severed. Yet even in the scenes where father and son provoke each other, you can see the deep wounds that haunt them both.

This is a tough, edgy film bolstered by powerful performances, but the material is so raw and wrenching that some may find it hard to watch. I honestly thought at first that I wasn't going to like it at all, but ended up liking it so much I watched it twice, the better to appreciate the nuance Scott brings to his role. Caleb's a broken man, the kind of guy you'd advise your daughter to run far away from, but there's hope of redemption within both him and the story.

:: EINSIDERS.COM ::

Sundance 2009: Review of THE VICIOUS KIND

by Jonathan W. Hickman

I attended the public screening of Lee Toland Krieger’s sensitive family drama “The Vicious Kind.” Although the movie is awfully well made, the highlight is the star-making performance of Adam Scott as the troubled Caleb who is recovering from a bad breakup and finds himself smitten with his younger brother’s girlfriend (played by Brittany Snow). Scott, who I spoke with last year about “August,” takes center stage here looking brutally tired and emotionally damaged for much of the dialogue heavy narrative. I swear that his scruffy appearance and caustic personality reminded me of Tom Cruise. Also dragging the pathos out of the audience is JK Simmons (“Juno”) playing a father (once again) who is estranged from Caleb. Sundance alum Neil LeBute serves as an executive producer for the film. Krieger’s sharp dialogue overcomes patches of incongruity especially as rather loud night-time activities go conveniently unnoticed by fellow inhabitants in the family home. But Scott’s work alone makes the film worth seeing.

MOVIE REVIEW

'The Vicious Kind'

Adam Scott's searing performance as an angry construction worker with heavy relationship issues is one of many strong elements in a memorable film.

By Gary Goldstein

December 11, 2009

Featuring a knockout performance by Adam Scott, a much-deserved 2009 Independent Spirit Award nominee for best male lead, "The Vicious Kind" upends the heavily tread dysfunctional family drama in ways that are unique, surprising and memorable.

The film, also up for best screenplay at the Spirits, should prove a solid launching pad for writer-director Lee Toland Krieger.

Set in small-town Connecticut over a Thanksgiving weekend, this sharp-tongued, emotionally resonant tale sets angry -- and, yes, kind of vicious -- construction worker Caleb Sinclaire (Scott) on a collision course with his virginal college-student brother Peter (Alex Frost), Peter's iffy girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow), and the brothers' brash but haunted father, Donald (J.K. Simmons).

The chain-smoking, sleep-deprived Caleb's vociferous mistrust of women fuels much of his wildly inappropriate, self-destructive behavior, which is set into overdrive by Emma's arrival on the scene.

But despite Caleb's dark belief that you must hurt someone to protect them, the movie is ultimately more concerned with healing and catharsis -- and the twisted path it sometimes takes to get there.

Scott (" Step Brothers," HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me") manages Caleb's tricky transition from bile-spewing jerk to intriguing, multidimensional human being with masterful precision, while Snow, Frost and Simmons also create deeply real characters under Krieger's vigilant eye.

Good soundtrack too.

calendar@latimes.com

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

GO! 

THE VICIOUS KIND

It’s a telling detail that indie film’s premier misanthrope, Neil LaBute, has an executive producer credit on writer-director Lee Toland Krieger’s scathing, dysfunctional-clan dramedy. Meet small-town Connecticut construction worker Caleb Sinclaire (Adam Scott, blistering), a sleep-deprived misogynist who maliciously projects his bitterness and insecurities on anyone foolish enough to come near. “All women are whores,” he schools his younger brother Peter (Alex Frost), who has come home from college for Thanksgiving, bringing along his new girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow). Reminded of the ex who cheated on him — and also his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) and late mother’s split over adultery — Caleb is convinced Emma is no better. This dude is messed up: First, he’s threatening to kill her if she hurts his bro, then he’s apologizing, flirting and stalking her. So emerges a twisted, most unexpected love triangle. Implausible? Well, who are college girls more likely to want: the sweet virgin or the disturbed bad boy? Inevitably, the film devolves into weepy catharsis, but with slick cinematography and colorfully cruel dialogue for Scott to chew up and spit at every member of this fine ensemble. The Vicious Kindis the most entertaining LaBute movie he never made. (Aaron Hillis)

The Vicious Kind -- Film Review

By Frank Scheck, December 11, 2009 05:18 ET

Bottom Line: Indie drama reveals talent in front of and behind the camera.

A dysfunctional-family drama that manages to shed its air of familiarity thanks to intriguing characters, "The Vicious Kind" reveals writer-director Lee Toland Krieger as a talent worth watching. Already the recipient of two Independent Spirit Award nominations (for screenplay and lead actor Adam Scott), the film opened exclusively Friday.11 in Los Angeles before an expanded release next year.

Virtually a four-character drama, the film deals with the fractured relationships among siblings Caleb (Scott); his virginal younger brother, Peter (Alex Frost); and their father, Daniel (J.K. Simmons), to whom Caleb hasn't spoken in the eight years since their mother's death. Adding combustibility to the mix is Peter's beautiful new girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow), who travels with him home for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, her arrival stirs up complicated feelings for Caleb, whose deeply misogynistic attitude toward women has been fueled by a recent break-up with a cheating girlfriend to whom Emma apparently bears a strong resemblance.

Caleb's none too subtly expressed hostility toward Emma soon transforms into something more complicated as his attraction to her becomes more and more evident. It eventually becomes apparent that his feelings are not entirely unreciprocated.

Again, there's nothing terribly fresh about all this, but Krieger's scabrous dialogue (it's easy to see what attracted the interest of executive producer Neil LaBute, whose work this picture often resembles) and incisive characterizations consistently sustain interest, and the performers provide intriguingly complex layers to their characters. Scott and Snow are the obvious standouts, but Frost and Simmons are equally fine in their less showy roles.