It’s hard to visualize someone’s nagging anxiety and self-doubt, but Violet, Justine Bateman’s directorial debut (which she also wrote), attempts to do just that by portraying it externally and in very public situations. Starring Olivia Munn in the titular role, Bateman successfully navigates the self-sabotaging voice in Violet’s head that disrupts every facet of her life. Elevated by a stunning performance by Munn, Violet conveys the challenges of living in one’s head in greatly effective, if somewhat tedious, ways.
On the surface, Violet (Munn) seems like she has it all: a great career as a successful and beloved film executive, she works at a well-known firm where the films she’s produced have won awards, she’s got good friends, connections, looks, and money. And yet, Violet’s internal voice (a perfect and insidiously cruel Justin Theroux), which she calls “the committee” in her head, is loud and constantly threatens to derail every single choice. The voice calls her a baby, an idiot, and claims she should take the verbal abuse of others who undermine her, including her boss (Dennis Boutsikaris) and family, because it’s the only way to stay on top and is what she deserves. Being happy is not an option, nor is doing what Violet wants, which is to stop listening to the voice.
The villain of the story is the committee. It overpowers Violet’s own wants and needs, which silently appear as cursive text onscreen — “Don’t go” or “Why can’t I stop the voice in my head?” — as the voice snipes that she will never be good enough for anyone or anything. Bateman doesn’t shy away from the fact that Violet, by comparison to most people, does have privilege. She’s made it in an industry that is hard to break into and is seemingly doing what she wants despite the committee claiming she should’ve studied something else in college. However, the film clearly showcases how Violet truly feels on the inside, undercutting the façade of her external life as seen by others.
Munn delivers a stunning performance, allowing her facial expressions and body language to convey the opposite of what she is communicating verbally to those around her. Her eyes say so much in the span of a few seconds and, despite the text telling the audience what Violet is truly feeling, Munn does most of the heavy lifting with her mesmerizing, nuanced performance that thankfully overshadows the monotony of the words’ constant appearances. The film is a showcase of her talent, which has been largely underutilized in other films.
It would have been easy for Bateman to let style speak over substance, but Violet delivers a striking message in an eccentric way, one that isn’t soon to be forgotten. The message is, ostensibly, to find freedom by breaking away from the mind’s own barriers which, in the film, are revealed to have been influenced by Violet’s verbally abusive mother and a relationship with an ex-boyfriend that ended badly. While not everyone has reliable and helpful friends, as Violet does in Red (Luke Bracey), the childhood friend who is always there for her, and Lila (Erica Ash, who deserved more screen time), the film ultimately gets around to its point: to get out of this self-sabotaging cycle is a personal journey one must ultimately overcome on their own.
The story is bolstered by emotion, clever editing by Jay Friedkin that showcases the dread Violet feels with dark, disturbing images appearing as certain scenes fade to depict the incoming silence of her mind, and character development that lends itself to a satisfactory conclusion. The film's strengths ultimately counter the tediousness of the film, which occasionally disrupt the otherwise good pace. What’s more, Violet is universal and speaks to anyone who has been hindered by crippling self-doubt or held back by toxic people, be they family members or bosses at work. Wanting better for oneself isn’t a bad thing, no matter what the invasive and cruel voice says otherwise.
Violet had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021. The film is 92 minutes long and is rated R for language throughout and some sexual references.