Violet & Daisy (2011)

One thing about “Violet & Daisy” that bugged me most, was that it pretends to be about something. When really, it isn’t. We don’t get to meet or know Violet & Daisy long enough to understand their characters or motivation. With the writing and short run time, “Violet & Daisy” portrays the titular duo as two moronic teenagers that happen to be assassins for some kind of gang or mafia organization.

I wouldn’t be opposed to watching a movie about teenage assassins for the mob, nor would I be opposed to watching a movie about killers that grow a heart. But “Violet & Daisy” is too concerned with cutesy indie art house nonsense to really decide what it is. Is it a crime thriller? Is it a crime comedy? Is it a spoof of Tarantino? Is it a coming of age dramedy? And how exactly did Violet meet Daisy? Did the gang recruit her? Did they just scoop her out of an orphanage? Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel are very charming and fun actresses that know how to really take on roles, given the right material. “Violet & Daisy” is much too in love with its own eccentricities and soundtrack to really provide us with juicy characterization that could allow Ronan and Bledel to really flex their muscles.

“Violet & Daisy” is a fucking disappointment, to say the least, since the premise is ripe for some interesting violence and action set pieces. But really, “Violet & Daisy” is just a drama about two little girls that kill for a living, and find out that they’re not all too interested in the same things they thought they were. What makes it even worse is that the movie merely ends. There’s no indication of what these characters are going to do next, or if their problems with one another are even close to being resolved. Who hires them? How are they paid? Do they have a guardian or mentor? How did they train with their guns? If Daisy never killed anyone before how did they recruit her as an assassin? Who was Rose? When did she die? Were Violet and Rose lovers? More to the point, why are these utterly careless characters still employed by the end of the narrative?

They literally fall asleep on the job, they make a ruckus with their assassinations, and they don’t seem all that focused on their work. So what happens if they fail in a job? Do either of them get killed if they fail to do their work? “Violet & Daisy” really is more focused on being cloying than it is telling an interesting story about prepubescent killers. Oh look, Danny Trejo is playing patty cake with Daisy while filling them in on their new job. How utterly whimsical. This idea is filled with potential to be a kick ass neo-pulp crime thriller, but it fails at every turn. I really wanted to love “Violet & Daisy,” but I found it mostly tedious. Which is a shame since Alexis Bledel and Saoirse Ronan are way too good for material as obnoxious as this.

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