Ronit J

Vengeance (2022) Synopsis:

A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.

Vengeance (2022) Review:

I heard about Vengeance in the last Binge-o-clock podcast by Sahil Shah & Rohan Joshi. B. J. Novak’s directorial debut, I was excited to see this one because I—to my embarrassment—only recently discovered that he wrote and directed many of the Office’s best episodes. Plus, the film’s premise seemed super interesting.

Vengeance follows Ben Manalowitz (B. J. Novak), a writer from New York who’s actively hooking up with multiple women, but never engages with them to know enough about them. One fateful night, he gets a call from Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook), who claims that Ben’s ‘girlfriend’ has just died, and he’d like Ben to attend the funeral. After much reflection, Ben decides to indulge.

He can’t remember Abby/Abilene (Lio Tipton), but he manages to keep up the ruse as Abby’s family happily welcomes him in. As Ty is driving Ben back to the airport, he suddenly reveals that Abby’s overdose on drugs was not normal. He claims that it was a murder, and that he needs Ben’s help to avenge his sister’s death. Seeing an opportunity for a podcast somewhere, Ben calls top producer Eloise (Issa Rae), and gets the green light to record his investigation.

A Careful Look Into Grassroot America

Almost all true crime podcasts tend to paint a picture of the crime setting, putting up a mirror to society and the people who might have contributed to the crime. In that context, Vengeance is almost an anti-crime podcast. Instead of investigating a crime, the film investigates the people who try to force a value to a crime that didn’t exist. The crime is the system itself that ignores its weakest links. The exploration is almost anthropological. I’ve seen my share of small town American films, but none have come this close to humanising the setting.

This isn’t your posh NYC. But, it’s also not your goshdarn hillbilly town with the twang in their voice. West Texas feels like a real place, populated with real people. These people have dreams. They have a routine, they have a culture, and all of it intertwines to make this little world of theirs. From their obsession with Whataburger to the existence of a prominent record label, Vengeance explores small town America with empathy and care. Apart from a few moments of ‘looking down’ in the beginning, most of the film genuinely feels like Ben’s attempts to connect with this relatively-unknown part of American society.

For all the ‘big word dumps’ that Ben and Eloise throw at us when discussing what this podcast could be about, it actually ends up as all of those. A crime story with no crime. A dissection of American society. Except at the very end of the film. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Of People And Their Stories

This movie is as much about Ben Manalowitz as it is about the many people that populate its narrative. From Abilene’s unrealised dreams to Ty’s denial and anger over her OD, to even Quentin Sellers selling dreams of stardom to his clients, Vengeance explores humanity through many different lenses.

The film starts with the privileged class. Hookup culture, feigned intellectualism, and hyper-connectivity all establish Ben as the modern man. The moment he faces the real America, his world turns upside down. Unlike someone who tries to change—either the world around them, or themselves—Ben resorts to documenting this reality for his podcast, giving him an almost divorced position in the complex network of personalities that he speaks with. Hell, even getting Sancholo’s (Zach Villa) perspective adds a human layer to the drug dealer.

While watching movies, it’s easy to forget that the characters on screen are real people. With Vengeance, the opposite is true. Each of these characters feels like a real person. The drug dealer is an Adele fan, attending a concert with his niece. The small town girls are better read on classic literature and academia than the modern Ben. The world isn’t as black and white as many films make it out to be, and Vengeance does a great job of painting a complex picture of America with its multi-layered characters.

Vengeance (2022) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

With El Stupido/Mason’s help, Ben is able to unlock Abby’s phone only to discover that ‘Ben’ was actually behind Abby’s death. Turns out that Abby had saved her boyfriend’s contact under Ben’s name, because he was just a random hook up. That explains why her family were so welcoming towards Ben.

Ben—despite being told to leave—goes to the party where he confronts Quentin Sellers about Abby’s death. He discovers that Quentin is involved with drug trafficking. As a rule, if any of his singers OD’s, he just leaves them in the ‘Afterparty’, a place where four jurisdictions overlap. The paperwork alone is a deterrent for investigation, mostly because the victims are nobodies. Quentin admits to everything, going so far as to claim that once Ben publishes the podcast, people on the internet would argue in favour of Quentin, leading to an endless feedback loop of debates and outrage.

Knowing that Quentin getting away scott free is a real possibility, Ben pulls out the gun and shoots Quentin in the head. He returns to the Shaws’ home and reconciles with them, revealing the truth. They keep his secret, and as he’s headed back to New York, he remotely deletes all of his recordings so that Abilene’s story remains a private memory.

While on paper the ending feels idyllic, it’s far from it. Everything that the film built up to comes crashing down the moment Ben shoots Quentin. It all feels like it was for nothing. A more satisfying, or appropriate, ending would have been to have Ty shoot Quentin. Given how he’s constantly spoken about disrupting the system that enabled Abby’s death, him getting his ‘vengeance’ would have—in my opinion—been a better conclusion. A more real look at America, as was the whole film until that point.

Is Vengeance (2022) worth watching?

Yes. Everything about this film is great… except the last few minutes.

I was a tad skeptical about finding the ‘real Ben’, but the twist did put things into perspective. The killing of Quentin Sellers, however, was where I threw my hands up in annoyance. It felt like Novak was giving his MC a ‘hero’ moment. Not only did that ending feel untrue to the realistic documentary-like vibe of the whole film, it also broke my immersion entirely. The fact that he deleted all those files further made me feel pissed off. Because of all the things that happened, that was the most unrealistic. To have that podcast air would have been a more compelling ending. But no, everything has to be resolved in an annoyingly Hollywood-esque finale.

Honestly, this might be a contender for the worst ending of the year for me.

In Conclusion:

Vengeance (2022) is a beautiful film that explores small town America in all its complexities and flaws. Alas, the ending really does injustice to the profound experience of the whole film.

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• Sinners (2025) | Film Review
• Stolen (2023) | Film Review
• Landscapers (2021) | Limited Series Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

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