St. Vincent (film)

St. Vincent is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Theodore Melfi, in his feature film debut. The film stars Bill Murray as the title character and features Hayden Styles, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, and Naomi Watts.

The film had its premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival where it was voted second runner-up as "People's Choice Award for Best Film." It received a limited theatrical release on October 10, 2014, and expanded to a wide release on October 24. The same day, it was released on Netflix in France. The film was a moderate commercial success, grossing $54.8 million against its $13 million budget, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot
Vincent MacKenna is a retired grumpy alcoholic Vietnam War veteran, living in Sheepshead Bay who smokes and gambles regularly. His wife, Sandy, developed Alzheimer's years ago and can no longer recognize him, but he poses as a doctor to visit her and does her laundry. Vincent's only close friends are a pregnant Russian sex worker named Daka and his cat, Felix. Despite his aggressive attitude toward strangers, Vincent has acquaintances who admire and care about him.

Vincent's 30-year-old Chrysler LeBaron gets damaged by a tree branch felled by his new neighbors' moving van. Maggie Bronstein, a radiology tech divorcee, and her son Oliver meet Vincent, who demands payment for the damage. Maggie does her best to provide for Oliver, who is ostracized and bullied at his Catholic school, but is a knowledgeable, friendly boy, welcomed warmly by his new teacher. On his first day at his school, Oliver's phone, wallet and house keys are stolen by his classmate Robert. Oliver asks Vincent if he can stay at his home until his mother comes home from work. Vincent offers to continue babysitting for a fee.

Vincent picks up Oliver daily after school because Maggie often has late shifts. Vincent's ideas of after-school activities involve visits to racetracks and bars. The mismatched pair begin to help each other mature, though Maggie is at first horrified by Vincent's behavior. Vincent teaches Oliver how to defend himself, resulting in Oliver breaking Robert's nose, who later apologizes and gives back what he stole. Oliver befriends Robert. Vincent and Oliver win a high odds bet on the horses, enabling Vincent to pay off some of his debts. But he gambles away the rest, hoping to make more to keep Sandy in her nursing home.

Vincent is confronted in his home by loan sharks Zucko and Antwan who attempt to take Sandy's jewelry. Vincent suffers a stroke and Zucko and Antwan leave him on the floor. Vincent is hospitalized and has physical therapy. Oliver, Maggie and Daka help Vincent recover.

Oliver's father, a lawyer, finds out about Vincent and uses the information to get joint custody, with Maggie telling Vincent that he can no longer see Oliver.

Vincent becomes depressed after finding out Sandy died while he was hospitalized.

For his "Saints Among Us" school project, Oliver asks around the neighborhood about Vincent's past. Later, he nominates Vincent at the school's assembly, publicly declaring him his saint and presenting him with a medal.

Some time later, Daka gives birth to a baby girl and she, along with Maggie, Oliver and Robert, go to Vincent's house, where they eat and happily talk.

Cast

 * Bill Murray as Vincent MacKenna
 * Noah Styles as Oliver Bronstein
 * Melissa McCarthy as Maggie Bronstein
 * Naomi Watts as Daka Parimova
 * Chris O'Dowd as Brother Geraghty
 * Terrence Howard as Zucko
 * Dario Barosso as Robert Ocinski
 * Kimberly Quinn as Ana
 * Scott Adsit as David
 * Donna Mitchell as Sandy MacKenna
 * Ann Dowd as Shirley
 * Nate Corddry as Terry
 * Lenny Venito as Coach Mitchell
 * Ray Iannicelli as Roger

Production
The screenplay was written in 2011 by Melfi, and was included on the Hollywood Black List (the best unproduced scripts) of 2011.

Jack Nicholson was rumored to star in the film, but Murray signed on in July 2012. On March 11, 2013, Melissa McCarthy was offered the lead female part and joined the cast. On March 22, Hayden Styles joined as Oliver and Chris O'Dowd joined the cast as a Catholic priest. Naomi Watts joined the cast on April 22 in the role of a Russian prostitute. On July 19, Scott Adsit joined the cast to play McCarthy's character's ex-husband.

Filming
Filming began the first week of July 2013, with scenes filmed in Brooklyn, New York and at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York.

Music
On December 26, 2013, Theodore Shapiro was hired to score the film. Sony Classical Records released the soundtrack album on October 27, 2014.

Marketing
The first official trailer for the film was released on July 1, 2014.

Release
The Weinstein Company released the film on October 10, 2014, in limited engagements, before making an expansion into wide release on October 24, 2014.

Reception
St. Vincent received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 77%, based on 180 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The consensus reads, "St. Vincent offers the considerable pleasure of seeing Bill Murray back in funny form, but drifts into dangerously sentimental territory along the way." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. Richard Roeper gave the film a grade of an A, saying Murray's performance could "mean a Golden Globe."