A Violent Man is described as a modern film noir murder mystery set in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Unfortunately, only one of those things can be stated with any accuracy (it is, indeed, set in the world of Mixed Martial Arts). The noir aspect falls flat, and the mystery is anything but, which leaves A Violent Man with only plot holes, bad characterization, and clunky dialogue. Character actors Bruce Davison and Isaach De Bankolé might bring an air of professionalism to the project, but casting choices like Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and bad writing quickly undermines any potentially good work those veterans may have put in.
There is exactly one inspired shot in the entirety of A Violent Man. Down on his luck MMA fighter Ty (Thomas Q. Jones) and (get this) an MMA investigative journalist (Denise Richards) are partaking in an unappealing make-out session. In a single shot, the camera leaves the bedroom where the PG-13 dry-humping is taking place and winds down the stairs and through the hallway. There, on the wall, is a picture of Victoria. She’s smiling and embracing Marco (real-life fighter Chuck Liddell), who Ty has just beaten in a practice session. It’s a very clever reveal that had me suddenly excited to see where this was going to lead and if the film noir descriptor was going to pay off after all. I’ll spare you. It doesn’t. In fact, that expertly crafted shot and the bombshell it drops goes absolutely nowhere. It’s never mentioned again. What a bummer.
The mystery aspects are equally confusing. For starters, the culprit can be seen from a mile away, but let’s not worry about that right now. Instead, let’s focus on the ineptitudes of the police department. Specifically, why Ty wasn’t arrested immediately. Whether he was framed or not, there’s DNA evidence, fingerprints on the victim’s neck, a flimsy motive, and witnesses. Come on! How he’s able to stay out of handcuffs until the climax stretches my suspension of disbelief to its maximum capacity.
It doesn’t help that character motivation seem to turn on a dime as well. In one scene, Ty’s girlfriend (Khalilah Joi) is leaving him for reasons too many to mention. In the next, she’s his enthusiastic cheerleader. What gives? On top of it all, we’re supposed to root for Ty and care what happens to him, but for the life of me, I can’t understand why. Noir is full of anti-heroes, sure, but Ty comes off as a self-centered high-schooler. Walter Neff, he ain’t.
I will say one more nice thing about A Violent Man. Even though the journey to the final minutes is tedious and clumsy, I did enjoy the ending. I may have seen it coming, but it’s a bleakness finally matches up to the noir sensibilities the film thinks it had the whole time. It doesn’t make up for what amounts to a half-baked mess of a film, but, for a cynical, classic noir fan such as me, leaving on a note of pure fatalism was the right way to go. It’s the most film noir aspect of the whole confusing affair.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.