I was really looking forward to Velvet Buzzsaw. The last time Director Dan Gilroy teamed up with Jake Gyllenhaal/Rene Russo, they produced Nightcrawler, one of the 10 best films of 2014. Velvet Buzzsaw doesn’t quite measure up to that gem, but it’s still a really fun movie with a bit of insanity and a bit of a message, perfect for a Netflix evening watch.
(Also, there’s no way of talking about this without revealing some stuff, so SPOILER ALERT…).
We open with an LA Art Gallery run by Rhodora Haze (Russo) and her stuck in a rut assistant Josephina (Zawe Ashton). Seeking fulfillment, Josephina strikes up a fling with Morf Vandewalt (Gyllenhaal), one of the best working art critics. One day running around, Josephina stumbles upon a plethora of paintings left behind by a dead artist, Ventril Dease. Seizing an opportunity, Josephina sends the paintings Rhodora, who becomes immediately enamored with them and starts selling them in her gallery. However, as more people start selling the Dease paintings, sad and strange fates befall one participant after another.
The first half of Velvet Buzzsaw is a rough slog at times. Reading the last paragraph, you’d think there are 3, maybe 4 main characters with some side ones. However, there’s more like 10 characters with introductions to get through. Gilroy tries his best to make it all interesting, but the collective vanity on display is only amusing for a short while. Gyllenhaal finds the best avenue into the material, openly critiquing everything he comes in contact with to belly laugh effect. And Gilory does NAIL the outfits, in particular Gyllenhaal and Toni Collette’s rival artist poacher. But Velvet Buzzsaw hopes you go along for the ride on all the mind games and politics in the art world, and all that machination is simply not as interesting as the screentime allots.
Once Billy Magnussen takes off with some of Dease’s pieces, then Velvet Buzzsaw turns into a scary funny extravaganza. All the talk of art esoterically in the beginning of the film gets pushed aside for a Final Destination like scourging of the cast. Gilroy not so subtely is trying to make a point about how art is at its best when it’s being created, and not monetized and distributed, but this is after a few kills, so you’re likely to not notice or care by then, only sorta cheering along that these loathsome people get what’s coming to them. You become simply amused at the deep, dark scathing humor, with Morf critiquing the funeral of a colleague, or a death in the gallery not noticed for WAY too long of a time. When the killing starts, Velvet Buzzsaw really speeds up and gives you a really fun final hour of the movie when the story goes coo coo for Cocoa Puffs.
As long as your artistic expectations are low, Velvet Buzzsaw is a great time. As a critic of movies myself, Dan Gilroy is maybe sending me a message about letting go of the critiquing a bit and just enjoy the art on display. Message received my dude. Please, please don’t send me any pieces of your art with blood in them? I don’t want to be stalked by a shapeless killer right now…