St. Vincent

Directed by Theodore Melfi, St. Vincent follows Bill Murray’s grizzled, grumpy Vincent MacKenna as he reluctantly agrees to babysit the precocious son (Jaeden Lieberher’s Oliver) of his new next-door neighbor (Melissa McCarthy’s Maggie). It’s exceedingly familiar subject matter that is, for the most part, employed to agreeable (and sometimes enthralling) effect by Melfi, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a compulsively watchable piece of work that benefits from its earnest, heartfelt atmosphere and raft of above-average performances – with, in terms of the latter, Murray’s engrossing and often captivating turn matched by such eclectic periphery figures as Terrence Howard, Chris O’Dowd, and Naomi Watts. (Lieberher is superb here, as well, and the actor more than holds his own opposite Murray’s powerhouse presence.) And while the narrative admittedly contains few surprises (ie the movie, for the most part, unfolds exactly as one might’ve anticipated), St. Vincent does build towards an unexpectedly moving final stretch that ensures it concludes on a seriously positive (and memorable) note – which ultimately confirms its place as a terrific endeavor that boasts, at its core, first-class efforts from its various players.

***1/2 out of ****