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A Vigilante review – feminist domestic-abuse revenge drama

Olivia Wilde is on a quest to help victims of violence in this tough, tense tale imbued with a commendable naturalism

The American writer-director Sarah Daggar-Nickson makes a seriously impressive debut here with her feminist domestic-abuse revenge fantasy featuring a lean performance by Olivia Wilde as Sadie, a lone-wolf vigilante who helps mostly female victims of abuse to escape using considerable force and asking for nothing in return but a little cash or food. It’s tough, tense movie with a couple of bone-snappingly violent moments, but critically it dials down the exploitation. You don’t have to sit through gratuitous assaults on women.

This is a film rich with the texture of real life, shot in cold, grey wintry upstate New York where business is booming for Sadie. Disguised in a blond wig she poses as an insurance rep at the home of a controlling husband – a scary guy with ramrod posture wearing a crisp, creaseless white shirt. After a few minutes with Sadie, the shirt is covered in blood. So, too, is the keyboard of his computer as he transfers two-thirds of his life savings to his wife. After escorting him to the front door, Sadie returns to her scummy motel room. Next, with auburn hair and painted-on freckles she rescues two boys from their sadistic mother. You could imagine Netflix making this into a series, with each case teased out into an episode.

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from Culture | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2wsSk00

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