Violet and Daisy Movie Review
Written by Sheraden Kimball, Former Student on Monday, December 9, 2013
Violet and Daisy is an enchanting and daring film written and directed by Academy Award-winning Geoffrey Fletcher. Alexis Bledel and Saoirse Ronan play the titular characters who just so happen to be incredibly young assassins in New York City. The black-comedy allows traces of dark humor while remaining profoundly emotional.
The film starts out with the two leading ladies on the job disguised as nuns. One moment "Vi" is telling "Dais" a raunchy joke; the next, they are violently shooting at their targets. The scene instantly piques your interest as the girls are seemingly nonchalant about the handful of men they just killed. It's their next assignment that changes their lives. James Gandolfini’s character is the next objective; the unexpected part being he's aware of his fate, and he's seemingly okay with it. As the girls learn more about him, the harder it becomes for them to finish the job. Despite only knowing him for a matter of hours, and getting a paycheck to execute him, the girls develop a deep bond with him.
Bledel skillfully plays the older and somewhat wiser of the two. She brings touches of humor to the film despite her character being slightly more damaged. Ronan on the other hand plays the exceptionally oblivious and endearing Daisy, who comes off as a helpless damsel yet looks death in the eye and doesn’t flinch. Despite their brutal occupation, their youthful candor and abnormal outlook on their line of work makes the pair likeable. The actresses expertly do their loveable characters justice.
The writing is what struck me as so captivating. The character development is brilliantly woven throughout the entire film. The girls’ innocence and naivety are apparent in the small but evident details of which are deliciously ironic. Whether it be in the form of blowing bubbles with bright pink gum in between shooting their targets, or in the way they play patty cake as they discuss their next kill. Their blasé and downright naïve attitude toward the job is glaringly obvious; embodied in the scene wherein Violet showers atop a pile of freshly killed bodies and in the more subtle bits, such as unwittingly going to "work" with milk mustaches coating their upper lips. The duo even go as far as to argue over who gets to do the “internal bleeding dance” on one of their fatalities.
Ultimately, Fletcher’s directorial debut was a great success, reminiscent of a Tarantino flick. Violet and Daisy is a thoroughly enjoyable coming-of-age film that leaves viewers thinking about the characters—even missing them—days after watching. It’s a pleasing examination on friendship and human connection that I highly recommend seeing.
