Vincent Must Die (2023) Movie Review: A Delirious, Wickedly Funny Ride that Does Justice to Its Wild Premise

A killer premise is not enough in itself for a great film. We have seen movies or shows that seem promising from their loglines. But the poor development ruins them midway – either because of the lack of stakes or the lack of consistency. As some film viewers say, you end up feeling like ‘it should have been a short film instead’! Stéphan Castang’s satirical black comedy – ‘Vincent Must Die’ (French: Vincent doit mourir) does not suffer from this issue. It is thoroughly gripping, endlessly hilarious, and consistently surprising.

The film follows Vincent Borel (Karim Leklou), a visual artist who works at a design/advertising firm. One day, when an intern arrives at their office, Vincent makes a joke – but no one laughs. Even though it was meant for good fun (in his opinion), no one cares for his humor. It almost seems like he tries to assert his position as a senior and miserably fails at that attempt. Soon after, the same intern suddenly starts beating Vincent with his laptop. Everyone gets surprised. You quickly register the sheer absurdity of whatever is happening, and you burst out laughing – probably because of the intern’s impulsive reaction. You wonder – who even does that? Why would someone behave that way?

The senior execs think the same way. They conclude that maybe the intern is not suitable for their demanding work environment. Perhaps he needs to not take the insult too seriously. While dwelling on the whys, our focus quickly shifts toward Vincent, who gets attacked again. So, we start seeing as the victim. We see him being prey to more of such sudden, often unwarranted attacks. It feels as if people come out of any possible place just to kill him! It is as hilarious as it sounds. For a moment, I thought of it as an idea Bill Hader pitched during Barry. Vincent Must Die operates under the same black humor umbrella and becomes a wickedly hilarious ride.

Every single time Vincent locks eyes with someone, that person uses all their strength to kill him. So, just like us, Vincent also starts questioning – why is this happening? He begins to lay out the details he knows to figure out a way to put an end to it. It’s easy to call it his karma and consider it as the bad guy getting punished. The film doubles down on its sensory assault, which we feel as intensely as Vincent does. Out of nowhere, he starts getting knifed, wounded, and followed by a mob. After a point, there is no better way than to accept that this is his ‘new normal.’

The film ultimately succeeds in never losing out on building the stakes. There are life-threatening situations sparsely placed in the duration, with enough breathing space – to not let the film drag. Even in its non-action moments, it keeps us hooked. That is because of the deep emotional involvement we feel in the life of this miserable character. Over time, we start plainly laughing and start sympathizing and occasionally empathizing for him.

Besides, the addition of Margaux Lamy (played by Vimala Pons) – a local diner waitress he meets out of necessity, makes Vincent seem more human. As Aaron Sorkin mentions in his masterclass, romance does work wonders in bringing out the character to be someone we can resonate with. At times, it also reminded me of Sightseers – Ben Wheatley’s similarly tragic romance.

There is, of course, a narrative thread that explores Vincent’s will to live pitted against his (mostly) inevitable slaughter. The script beautifully explores his stages after he accepts his social exclusion. With the experience of the pandemic under all our belts, we all know how it affects us and slowly kills our will to survive. Vincent Must Die encapsulates that sheer dread while dwelling upon the factors that he can latch on to. Thanks to Karim Leklou’s outstanding lead performance, the film elevates its dramatic bone to its comedic premise.

Read More: Monster (2023) Movie Review: A Richly Layered, Humanist Tale that Explores the Nature of Truth

Vincent Must Die (2023) Trailer

Vincent Must Die (2023) Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

Vincent Must Die (2023) Cast: Karim Leklou, Vimala Pons, François Chattot, Karoline Rose Sun, and Raphael Quenard