St. Vincent

Directed & written by: Theodore Melfi

Memorable quotes:

Daka: Only a few freaks like the belly

Vincent: It is what it is? Everyone says that now. You know what it means? 'You're screwed and you shall remain screwed'.

Vincent: I do not want to tell you to go fuck yourself. I'm closing it, let's just leave it at that, please.

Maggie: Oh boy.
Vincent: Oh boy no. Oh shit is more like it.

Oliver: Is that our new neighbour?
Maggie: Yes.
Oliver: It's gonna be a long life.

Brother Geraghty: We must concentrate in our studies or we will what? We will die dumb, yes we will and dumb do not play well in heaven.

Brother Geraghty: We celebrate all the religions of the world in this room, Oliver. I'm a catholic, which is the best of all the religions really because we have the most rules.

Oliver: Sir?
Vincent: Take me God. Don't play with me.
Oliver: It's me Sir.
Vincent: Yeah, what?
Oliver: I was wondering if I could use your phone?
Vincent: My phone?
Oliver: Yes.
Vincent: In my house?


Oliver: Are they old?
Vincent: No. They're dead. That's the oldest you can be.
Oliver: Or the youngest. Time freezes when you're dead.

Vincent: He don't like many people.
Oliver: I'm good with animals, Sir.
Vincent: Yeah, he don't usually like people who say they're good with animals.

Daka: Stupid bump is costing me much money.
Vincent: He's gonna cost you a lot more pretty soon.
Daka: It's not "he".
Vincent: It's a "she"?
Daka: How I know this? I look like psychic to you?
Vincent: No, you don't. But they have technology .

Vincent: You better buckle up.
Oliver: You're not buckled.
Vincent: My life is my problem.

Vincent: I'm not happy when I'm annoyed.
Oliver: Are you annoyed right now?
Vincent: Not particularly.
Oliver: Really?

Oliver: Cost more than a dime.
Vincent: Since when?
Oliver: Since before I was born.
Vincent: What's this country coming to.

Vincent: Who taught you to slap?
Oliver: I don't know, Sir, just the instinct I guess.
Vincent: Well you need to unlearn that.

Vincent: Your father never taught you to defend yourself?
Oliver: No, Sir. He is a pacifist.
Vincent: Well, this country wasn't founded by tree huggers, that's for sure.

Oliver: I'm small, if you haven't noticed.
Vincent: Yeah, so was Hitler.
Oliver: That's a horrible comparison.
Vincent: Indeed. Making a point though. Small means nothing. It's what's in here. (Vincent point at his head).
Oliver: Or here, Sir. (Oliver points at his heart)

Nurse Anna: Who's your helper?
Vincent: It's eleven bucks an hour.
Oliver: That's Oliver, actually.

Vincent: So, what have you been crying about?
Maggie: It's a long story.
Vincent: Okay. What's the punchline?
Maggie: My ex wants custody.
Vincent: There goes my job security.
Maggie: Thanks, you asshole.
Vincent: That could have gone either way.

Maggie: Are you drinking alcohol?
Vincent: I honestly don't remember.

Oliver: Who is she?
Vincent: A lady of the night.
Oliver: What's that?
Vincent: It's one of the most honest ways to make a living.

Vincent: What do you know about me? Really, tell me, I'd love it.
Maggie: Nothing. I don't know a thing about you. Just the way you want it. Then you can act like a prick and keep everybody away.

Brother Geraghty: I do happen to believe that there are saints all around us today. They may never be considered as such by religion. They're just as important as important as the one in our textbooks.

Oliver: He sounds...
Daka: Like a retard. Well, he's stupid man anyway so retard is not far from.

Vincent: Where is all my dirt?

Oliver: She is a lady of the night.
Maggie: What? Do you know what that mean?
Oliver: She works at night?

Vincent: My wife, where is she?
Sunnyside administrator: She died, Vince.
Vincent: I know that. Where is she?
Sunnyside administrator: She's in there.
Vincent: Where?
Sunnyside administrator: In the box. Her remains, Vince.

Oliver: What's in the box?
Vincent: My wife.
Oliver: She died?
Vincent: No. She shrunk herself. She's living in here now. Rent free.
Oliver: Sorry for your loss.
Vincent: I never understood why people say that.
Oliver: They don't know what else to say?
Vincent: How about 'What was she like?', 'Do you miss her?', Or 'What are you gonna do now?' Do yourself a favor: get a life. Stop living mine.

Daka: My water is broken.
Vincent: Call a plumber.
Daka: Let's go!

Oliver: Saints never give up.

Oliver: He taught me how to fight, how to stand my ground and be brave. How to speak up and be bold because saints fight for themselves and others so that they might be heard.

Oliver: Yes, mister Vincent McKinnon is flawed, seriously flawed. But just like all the other saints we studied cause after all, saints are human beings; very human beings. Courage, sacrifice, compassion, humanity: these are the markings if a saint and what makes mister Vincent McKinnon not so far removed from St William of Rochester.

Vincent: So what is it? Black? White? Ugly?

Daka: You like the baby?
Vincent: Yeah, so far.

Plot:  Following a bitter divorce, Maggie and her son Oliver move in a new neighbourhood and it doesn't take long for them to meet their old, grumpy next door neighbour, Vincent. Short on cash, Vincent offers to babysit Oliver, who soon discovers that there is a lot more to Vincent than meets the eye.

 Trailer:

 

  Review:

St Vincent is a sweet story about appearance and how there is more to a person than meets the eye. Vincent is a veteran, a man who takes care of his Alzeihmer's stricken wife and watches over a pregnant prostitute. Meanwhile he is also a drunk, a gambler, and one grumpy old man. Vincent is at times hard to like, and at others you wish you could just give him a hug and hand him a medal. This is to me what makes St Vincent the great movie that it is. I usually dislike overly manichean films that portray characters who are either good or bad while in reality it is usually far more complex. Vincent embodies this complexity and never changes throughout the film. He simply comes to terms with letting people get close to him again but he starts the film grumpy and when it ends, he is exactly the same. The remaining of the characters also display this complexity. Melissa McCarthy plays a struggling mom who forgets that although her husband left her, he did not leave their child. Likewise, her ex husband clearly was a bad husband but seems to be a really good father. Daka, who is played by Naomi Watts, is also far much nicer that she likes to pretend. There is no black and white in St Vincent, there is only grey.

Bill Murray is absolutely fantastic, as usual. As for Jaeden Lieberher who plays Oliver, he is a true revelation and I sure hope that he will go far in the movie industry.