The Art of Self-Defense centers around Casey Davies - played by Jesse Eisenberg - a mild-mannered accountant who gets mugged by a motorcycle gang one night. Looking to gain better confidence and protect himself, he signs up for karate lessons, training under a man simply known as Sensei, played by Alessandro Nivola, and taking classes alongside Anna, played by Imogen Poots, who also teaches the children’s classes at the dojo. Sensei is bent on giving Casey a much more masculine image and takes him under his wing, and Casey begins to see what comes with trying to reinvent himself.
If there’s a role that seemed to be tailor-made for Jesse Eisenberg, this is it. Eisenberg made a name for himself playing socially awkward teenagers that had difficulties standing up for themselves, and this movie feels like the culmination of early roles such as Zombieland and Adventureland. Casey seemed to be written exactly with Eisenberg in mind, as he carries many of the same quirks his other characters had, to an even worse degree. He would attempt to confront a tormentor and immediately back away in fear, and he will timidly agree with whatever someone with a more domineering personality has to say.
Eisenberg does a great job with the material, and in a way, Casey’s transformation into the more confident person he wants to be seems to mimic Eisenberg’s own shift towards more confident roles such as in The Social Network, Now You See Me, or his appearances in the DC Extended Universe. Though unlike those roles, what remains consistent about Casey though is that despite being more confident, he retains many of his same quirks he had at the beginning of the film, and he’s consistently very entertaining to watch here.
This film is a dark comedy, and a very funny one at that. It can contain bursts of sudden, brutal violence, only to immediately follow it up with a character saying something funny, or the way in which a situation playing out making way for some visual gag. Though the film doesn’t necessarily stop to make jokes. Its main focus is to tell a story, and it never derails the story to do something for the sake of a laugh. Many of the jokes and gags are weaved into the screenplay, and it’s many of the characters’ drives and wants that are just naturally funny.
The film is a commentary on American masculinity, particularly the notion of toxic masculinity, something which has received its fair share of media spotlight in recent days. The extremities that certain characters go to in this film to achieve something more masculine tend to be played for laughs, although they are also used in certain character-defining moments as events begin unfolding. These moments will come off as a bit odd to some, as the film at times shifts from being quirky to somewhat disturbing in some instances, and there’s at least one reveal that could have been expanded slightly, but the film does a great job at heightening the absurd lengths that masculinity is taken to.
And even in the film’s smaller moments, it still gets plenty of laughs and still manages to say a lot. Sensei gets a lot of emotional satisfaction from trivial ideas like owning a German Shepherd or the fact that he listens to heavy metal, and he teaches Casey to be the same exact way, and seeing Casey awkwardly incorporate many of Sensei’s ideals into his life gets for some good laughs - he still doesn’t fully understand certain social cues, but the fact that he gains such a better sense of confidence makes for a fun scene at the expense of those who previously gave him a hard time.
Alessandro Nivola is a scene-stealer as Sensei, and it’s clear he had a blast with the role. He gets plenty of really fun moments where he goes on passionate monologues about his love for the dojo - as well as one in which he describes his mentor, the Grandmaster, in the style of one giant Chuck Norris joke - as well act out - and when he gets to participate in the more action-filled karate moments, he’s allowed to really let loose and get some really solid laughs here. Also a joy to watch is Imogen Poots, who has a solid ongoing subplot of her own that ends up being one of the more serious aspects of the film, but it never necessarily brings the film down, and is in fact highly engaging in its own right, as it reaches some absurd heights of its own. This film does a great job giving enough time crafting each of its characters while never detracting from the overall story.
Much of this film’s dialogue is very deadpan, and much of the humor comes from some very off-kilter exchanges. Many characters will typically give very dramatic explanations, summarizing a grave situation, only to follow it with something extremely mundane. There are other moments in which a character will say something they want to do, and expand upon a desire by breaking it down into the most simplest terms. There’s almost no subtlety in any of the dialogue, with characters being overly direct at times. While in nearly any other film this would be something that’s frowned upon, the redundant nature of the dialogue is cleverly skewed for laughs, either through a character’s reaction or through some sort of visual gag that stems as a result of the exchange.
The Art of Self-Defense is extremely dark and extremely quirky, and for some, that may be a bit of a turn-off. But the film undoubtedly offers some brilliant social commentary, thanks to the ridiculous heights its characters go to just to convey a certain image. It contains one of the finest performances of Jesse Eisenberg, and is also supported by a scene-stealing Alessandro Nivola and a great Imogen Poots. It has plenty of laughs, well-built characters, and some truly gripping moments, making for a very entertaining watch.
Recommendation: Watch It
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