Everyone has negative thoughts; the internal voice of self-doubt eating away at you all the time. But you will be able to hear those sentiments in Justine Bateman’s directorial debut Violet. Justin Theroux lends his voice to the contemptuous subconscious of Violet Calder, a successful film executive played by Olivia Munn. Directed by Justine Bateman, who is best known for playing Mallory Keaton on NBC’s Family Ties, Violet is a fascinating drama about overcoming one’s insecurities. Relativity Media recently released a riveting trailer for Violet that you can watch below.
The trailer opens with Violet Calder (Olivia Munn) waiting at a traffic light. We then get to hear Theroux’s toneless yet chilling voice telling Violet all sorts of horrible things about herself until she tears up. A seemingly mild-mannered film executive, Violet Calder, has lived all her life driven by fear, but not anymore. Midway through the trailer, Violet decides she’s had enough and will do the exact opposite of what the voice (Justin Theroux) tells her to do. Promising hard-hitting and thought-provoking drama, Violet delivers on all fronts and is a must-watch for fans who are looking for something original. If you’re not sold on the film already, check out the following plot synopsis for Violet.
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Justine Bateman’s intriguing and immersive debut film follows Violet Calder (Olivia Munn) as she realizes that she can no longer ignore the daily barrage of self-criticisms (voiced by Justin Theroux) that clouds her life. These self-criticisms cause her to make fear-based decisions and hold her back from the kind of professional, personal, and romantic life she knows she wants. Unsure how to live a life free from that self-doubt, like her childhood friend Red (Luke Bracey), Violet realizes she has no choice but to travel the road that is more frightening to her than the fear that holds her back: Doing everything differently.”
Justine Bateman, the older sister of fellow actor and filmmaker Jason Bateman, has written and directed Violet. The film has received mostly positive reviews till now, with particular praise for Olivia Munn’s performance and Bateman’s direction. Violet also stars Luke Bracey, Zachary Gordon, Steve Agee, Todd Stashwick, Laura San Giacomo and Rain Phoenix in supporting roles. One peculiar aspect about the film is why Violet has a male voice tormenting her mind. Bateman answered a similar question in an interview with Deadline, explaining how she wanted to separate the person and the voice to make it seem more foreign.
“I wanted to say, ‘Think about those negative thoughts as if Justin Theroux is saying them to you. Or not necessarily Justin Theroux, but just think about the voice as something separate from you, just as an experiment, and see if you can’t observe those thoughts, those critical thoughts, objectively. And then it’s easier to notice that they’re lies.”
Violet premiered at the South by Southwest film festival this March after failing to do so last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film was soon acquired by Relativity Media and had its international premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving rave reviews. Violet will have a limited theatrical release on 29 October 2021 before heading to Video on Demand on 09 November. Be sure to check it out.
You can view the original article HERE.
