Welcome back for a new installment of Review Stew! This week we’ll be adding the ingredient of self-defense. At least, that’s what Jesse Eisenberg is hoping for in…The Art of Self-Defense (2019).
Title: The Art of Self-Defense
Director: Riley Stearns
Released: March 10, 2019 (SXSW), July 12, 2019 – Theatrical (USA)
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
Available to stream on: Hulu, Kanopy, Tubi
Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) is an introverted company accountant who enjoys a simple life. His two real joys are his Dachshund and the act of learning French. Why the act of learning French? Well, simply because Casey has an understanding that the French are much gentler than Americans.
While at work, he is often bullied by the “alpha male” types of the office. Not wanting to have a confrontation, Casey silently takes the abuse day after day.
One night, as Casey walks home with a bag of dog food, a group of people on motorcycles suddenly surrounds and attacks him. Despite offering up his wallet to his attackers, they still put quite a beating on him. So much so, that he winds up in critical condition.
After recovering from his injuries, Casey lays low and avoids going outside out of fear. However, this changes one day when Casey finds himself in a dojo observing a karate class. Once the class is over, Casey starts a conversation with Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), who gets him signed up for a demo class. Seeing the self-confidence that he feels in karate class, Casey decides to sign up as a student.
Will his new passion for self-defense change him for the better?
When you get to about the midway point of The Art of Self-Defense (2019), it then becomes almost an entirely different movie.
Up until Casey earns his yellow belt, it’s a film about a pacifist who seemingly finds the solution to his problems through the art of self-defense. However, as soon as Casey earns his yellow belt and his black stripe, we dive headfirst into the underbelly of toxic masculinity. From then on, it becomes a blistering satire of the absurd “alpha bro” cult-like mindset.
The casting here was on-point. Eisenberg is always phenomenal in the “quirky yet awkward and relatable” role. Meanwhile, Nivola as Sensei is able to bring the right mixture of both dark humor and uncomfortable evil to where both keep you on edge. Despite her role being a bit uneven throughout, Imogen Poots really shines here as Anna. Her and Eisenberg have great chemistry together and their character’s relationship is an interesting one to see as Casey slowly uncovers the truth of his mugging.
I have a feeling that this won’t be for everyone. In fact, there probably won’t be much a middle ground either.
For what it’s worth, The Art of Self-Defense (2019) was very much my jam.
Well, what about you? If you’ve seen The Art of Self-Defense (2019), what did you think of it?
Leave me a comment below or reach out on Bluesky and let me know your thoughts!
As always, you can follow me on Letterboxd to see what else I’ve been watching.
Lastly, we are just weeks away from Livestream for the Cure. May 16th and 17th some of the best in indie podcasting will be live-streaming on Twitch to raise money for a world without cancer.
If you’d like and are able to, you can donate early here.