I've been trying to figure out why I'm so in love with St. Vincent. I think I'm remembering my dad. I really love the choices in the film. They show such layers of understanding of the functioning drinker's personality. My dad was a functioning alcoholic who quit drinking 10 years before he died from lung cancer in 2001. My dad took us to bars and the race track all the time when we were kids and we thought nothing of it. It was fun and a glimpse into adult life. Looking back at how we responded to an adult drinker as children is interesting now for me through the eyes and actions of Oliver. There's a level of respect for the drinker because he's an adult, but there's also a level of courage you have with the drinker because you know he's flawed. You don't consciously know that, but you speak up to him when he's drunk in a way you wouldn't speak to a regular adult. This was masterfully played by Oliver when he had the courage to tell Vin that 'of course he was stupid, mostly for thinking that he was more than just a drunk, mean old man...'. And then telling him he was sad...a sad man. There's also a sense that the drunk person needs to be protected from other non-drinking adults, such as when Oliver jumped in right away and told Maggie that Vin's car broke down.
Many drinkers like to have silent company. Vin told Oliver to practice not talking. My dad always wanted me in the room with him, but often said, "Suz, don't talk a lot." There is also a drinker's teaching of morality and standing up for yourself. The standing up for yourself and speaking up for yourself is obvious in the film, but the pretzel scene is brilliant. That is exactly something my dad would have said to us to make us think about right and wrong for ourselves.
Just to add my own little story here, my dad used to bring out his accordion when he crossed the "drunk threshold" ...we used to run upstairs and tattle to mom, dad's getting the accordion out! There's something about the drinker that as a child you want to be around him, but you want him to be his fun self and pay attention to you, not to be his obnoxious scary self. Other adults know that's not always possible, but children long for that. That's why I'm so glad the scene with Vin breaking the glass and crossing the drunk threshold was included in the film as well as Vin telling the kid to get a life. Drunks can turn fun into a nightmare very quickly and drunks can be mean-and mean for entertainment.
Well, I just wanted to write about some of the interesting, subtle and brilliant choices in St. Vincent that touched me. Of course, there were many more scenes of humor and friendship to round out the film, but I think these are the ones I deeply connected with from my childhood that made the movie so personal.
