The Art of Self-Defense Review

The new dark comedy The Art of Self-Defense is an offbeat and bold story that challenges and pokes fun at toxic masculinity with extremely inconsistent results. The film’s main protagonist is an incredibly impressionable hero whose positive intentions quickly get him in over his head, and it’s not long for writer/director Riley Stearns to become overwhelmed by the film as well. The interesting and well-executed first act becomes burdened by a clumsy and indecisive second half. The ridiculously deadpan humor and willingness to show gruesome violence in order to subvert expectations create an initially enjoyable atmosphere that eventually becomes stale and predictable, resulting in a film that carries a level of outrageousness that never feels fitting or deserved. The Art of Self-Defense does feature some entertaining and memorable moments that are generated from the absurd dark comedy elements and twisted themes, but the films pacing issues mixed with Stearns' narrative indecisions ultimately results in a film that leaves much to be desired.

The Art of Self-Defense follows socially awkward accountant Casey Davies, a quiet man who struggles to find where he fits in the world and tends to keep to himself, with his closest friend being his pet Dachshund. Late one evening on the way to get more food for his dog, Casey is confronted and brutally attacked by a group of people riding motorcycles. The attack leaves him physically injured as well as anxious and insecure about his frailties. He attempts to overcome this by enlisting in a local karate dojo ran by a mysterious and weird sensei. This decision soon throws Casey headfirst into a fellowship of masculinity and brutality where he quickly becomes the focus of his strange new teacher.

The films deliberately drab visuals match the unenthusiastic humor fittingly, but The Art of Self-Defense falls flat frequently. Every aspect of the film is played so purposely dry that it quickly becomes more obnoxious than funny. The clever moments scattered throughout don't make up for the ineffective dark and quirky moments that are usually cringe-worthy for all the wrong reasons. Stearns clearly has fun sending the audience down various narrative twists and turns, but he quickly runs out of directions to turn and ultimately squanders most of the film with a second and third act that feels unrewarding and rushed. The film often relies on the performances of Jesse Eisenburg, Imogen Poots, and Alessandro Nivola, who are all consistently enjoyable to watch when Stearns script contains worthwhile material.

Overall, the strange and engrossing atmosphere that Stearns manages to build during the films first half runs out of steam long before the final act. The dry offbeat humor that dominates the movie is funny at first but becomes annoying quickly. Despite this, the enjoyable performances and the original concept keeps everything entertaining enough, preventing the film from becoming a disaster. But the insistently drawn-out elements mixed with constant shifts in tone undeniably burdens many of The Art of Self-Defense’s positives.

Inconsistent comedy and problems in narrative brevity ultimately take away from the enjoyable performances and intriguing concept of The Art of Self-Defense.

Produced By: Bleecker Street
Runtime: 104 minutes
Rating: R