There are few things more modern than a movie that seems to understand that most of us are one notification away from losing the plot entirely.
And apparently, Vintage Violence understands that very well.
The film, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, has been described by The Verge as an absurdist crime thriller for phone addicts. Now that’s quite a description. The film is directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko, and stars Cole Sprouse as Carter. Carter is a disgraced livestreamer who somehow goes from rare vintage denim to scams, Tokyo, black-market trouble and yakuza violence.
So yes, quite a normal little journey. The story follows Carter after he discovers a stash of rare vintage denim in a Colorado mine. He then follows a trail to Tokyo. Here he becomes involved with a woman who may be using him, you will have to watch to find out. And then he gets pulled into the black-market turf wars, yakuza trouble and a past that resurfaces. Who knew that the life of a man who started with jeans, could get this complicated.
What I find interesting is the way Vintage Violence tells the story. The movie uses split screens, texts, livestreams and digital chaos to recreate the feeling of smartphone dependency. And that’s on point right now. Just look around, people are constantly moving between messages, notifications, voice notes, livestream clips, comments, video calls and group chats all day long. And the truth is that even when nothing important is happening, the phone has a way of making everything dramatic. And that is the aim of Vintage Violence.
Not as background props but as the whole environment. When you think about it, the noise, pressure, distraction, and using the instrument that is shaping how people perform, lie, panic and make terrible decisions in public, could become quite interesting. I mean, movies have struggled to show digital life for years without making it look silly. Text bubbles on screen work, but for a very limited time. As for dramatic typing … well, it can only do so much. And when it comes to watching someone stare at a phone while deciding whether to send a message is like watching paint dry.
Now there are films about technology, that understand that phones aren’t just devices. It has been proven that phones influence our behaviour. They change how people speak and how they present themselves. But more importantly they can turn ordinary moments into performances and private disasters into content. Which works brilliantly for a character like Carter. His problem is not only that danger has found him, but that he comes from a world where people watch, react to and turn everything into content for an audience. You might say that this is a very strange way to live. But it seems like strange is slowly becoming normal.
I don’t know about you, but I find a movie that recreates phone dependency slightly exhausting. Because I go to the cinema to escape my phone. I want the big screen, the dark room, the silence and the chance to just relax. So paying to watch a film that looks like your screen is having a nervous breakdown may not be everyone’s idea of relaxation. But hey, different strokes for different folks, right!
Just know upfront that following Vintage Violence can become chaotic and difficult, especially when chat messages and action are happening at the same time. So some might find it irritating, while those who live online, may find it to be pretty accurate. Because that is exactly how online life often feels, where everything happens at once. There are people streaming, while others are commenting, selling something, lying, or pretending to be much calmer than they actually are. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, reality tries to get a word in.
And this is where I bid reality Good luck. I guess, what I appreciate the most about Vintage Violence is that it’s not another film that just says phones are bad. We’ve had too many of those that have told us that they grab too much of our attention. But we also know that half of us cannot watch anything without checking what someone posted. Who commented. And why a group chat suddenly has sirens going off. So no, we do not need another lecture. But what we probably do need are films that understand how phones actually feel. They are either useful, annoying, addictive, funny, embarrassing, impossible to ignore, or slightly evil when you are trying to sleep.
So maybe a crime thriller built around livestreams, scams, split screens and digital noise is not as strange as it first sounds. Maybe it is just being honest about the way many people already experience the world. But as with anything, this kind of thing can go wrong very quickly. There is a thin line between clever chaos and simply making the audience feel like they need eye drops. But at least Vintage Violence sounds like it is trying to do something with the reality of modern attention, rather than pretending we are all still calmly living one thing at a time. Simply because we aren’t.
Most of us are living in several tabs, three conversations and one low-level fear that we forgot to reply to someone important.
So yes, Vintage Violence may be loud, messy and overstimulating by design.
But if the film looks like your phone having a panic attack, maybe that is not a flaw.
Maybe that is the most honest part.
