Here’s and over-stylized, gory and narratively predictable debut from rookie Canadian directors Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. “Violation” premiered at the virtual TIFF Midnight Madness program last September to somewhat-positive-reviews — don’t buy the hype. Set during a weekend at a remote cottage, Miriam (Sims-Fewer) goes to visit her sister, but comes across a violent encounter with someone she thought she could trust (no fair revealing who). This all culminates in an act of brutal revenge on the part of Miriam, whose broken state of mind is shown via the film’s non-linear timeline of events. Using the narrative gimmick of not telling their story from start to finish, but rather in jigsaw fashion, Sims-Fewer and Mancinelli’s technique feels too one-dimensional and predictable instead of mysterious and unforeseeably twisty. Grungy in nature, this is an exploitation flick through and through, but approached with the false state of mind that it could be relevant enough to be seen as another #MeToo diatribe. Don’t fall for it. “I Spit on Your Grave” did it better close to 42 years ago.
SCORE: C-
Back in January, at the Sundance Film Festival, a bidding war emerged over Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite.” A24, Netflix, Searchlight, Focus Features, and NEON among the studios in the mix.