Some Velvet Morning (2013)

Doesn't reinvent man-vs.-woman theater, but it's a twisty and vitriolic barb-fest that should please audiences in the mood for respite from holiday cheer. It represents a return to the kind of writing and filmmaking with which Neil LaBute made his name. An hour and a half of emotional manipulation seasoned with a dash of straight-up violence. While there's much to admire in how Mr. Tucci and Ms. Eve perform Mr. LaBute's artful, apocalyptic duet, this is one seriously out-of-date tune. Something's not right, and anyone who's paying attention will be able to spot the signifiers easily. You may be nonplussed by the Big Reveal, though the path to it is rough.

 

This smallest of films marks a welcome return to the world of interpersonal miniature for the writer-director. I hope he stays here a while. Anyone game to watch two effortlessly volatile and vulnerable performers trade barbs for 83 minutes ought to give this due consideration. Stanley Tucci and Alice Eve ably trade verbal volleys but the movie feels like an acting and writing workshop more than anything else. The Neil LaBute movie for people who hate Neil LaBute movies -- a tightly packed, deviously well-played two-person drama about the illusions of both love and drama. Too much method, not enough madness.

A second viewing of Some Velvet Morning might prove considerably more rewarding than the first, but a stronger film (or play) would work equally well on both levels. Neil LaBute is a master at manipulative, funny and provocative wordplay, and Stanley Tucci is a master at crafting a charming, witty and controlling character and seems to relish the changing tones and moods that Fred has to go through. LaBute has consistently made intriguing, often idiosyncratic films in his career, but he hasn't made anything this unsettling and unforgettable in a very long time. Some Velvet Morning is absorbing and enraging, sure to spark debate both about its meaning and its method.