I had a good time watching writer/director Dan Gilroy’s latest movie, Velvet Buzzsaw. The fact that it’s set in sunny Miami Beach, Florida, only has a little something to do with my enjoyment.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, John Malkovich, Zawe Ashton, Toni Collette, and Billy Magnussen, Velvet Buzzsaw is a comedy/crime/fantasy movie about a group of art lovers who become targets of a supernatural force. The catalyst for the vengeance being, the art lovers helped themselves to pieces of art they really shouldn’t have.

I immediately liked the early scenes where the different characters, along with all their various motivations, are established. Yet, I did watch these scenes while somewhat impatiently waiting for the vengeance to begin. The true extent of my impatience didn’t reveal itself until after the very first bit of rather thrilling revenge was enacted. The reason being, some of the scenes after that point weren’t always especially engaging. 

Thanks to my favourite characters in the movie, the ones played by Gyllenhaal, Ashton and Natalia Dyer, I feel as though Velvet Buzzsaw had enough to make the nearly two hours I spent watching the movie worthwhile. I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s quite as good as Nightcrawler (2014) – my favourite Gyllenhaal and Gilroy collaboration, but it does have some standout moments that I won’t soon forget. Especially where the creative ways revenge is enacted upon the greedy art lovers is concerned. There are also moments of gorgeous cinematography featuring rich, vibrant colours. 

Another good movie that came to mind as I watched Velvet Buzzsaw is Final Destination (2000), a horror/thriller that did a very memorable job of thrilling and shocking its audience because of the well-executed death sequences, something Velvet Buzzsaw doesn’t do too badly at either.

Watch it if you’re so curious. Other reasons include the ‘funny’ replacement personal assistant, the chance to see Gyllenhaal really having fun in this role.

Last but not least, watch it and be surprised by how much you actually enjoy the very last ‘piece of art’ shown in this movie. I know I did. I really could have looked at it for quite a while.

Happy Film Loving,

G