St. Vincent marks the debut of writer/director Theodore Melfi. This heartwarming and captivating comedy focuses on a seemingly pathetic and angry Vietnam War veteran named Vincent, played by Bill Murray. Vincent may be present, but make no mistake about it, he’s stopped living anything close to a real life. Vincent’s one friend is Daka (Naomi Watts), a pregnant Russian prostitute and occasional stripper whose unborn child may or may not share his genes.

The main reason Vincent leaves his house is to frequent a local bar where he likes to get sloshed. He’s also a  frequent patron of the local race track where -- even though totally broke -- he bets on horses. And each week he pays a visit to his wife Sandy (Donna Mitchell) at a long-term care facility where her health is in rapid decline due to Alzheimer's. All this is about to change when Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) become his next-door neighbors. Vincent encounters them for the first time after Maggie hits his tree with her car, causing it to fall onto his dilapidated 30-year-old station wagon which he deems a classic.

Vincent has no use for either of his new neighbors, or so he thought until learning about Maggie’s desperation to find a trustworthy babysitter for Oliver. Maggie’s extremely erratic schedule involves working late into the night if not until early morning.  Flat broke and sensing a money-making opportunity, Vincent agrees to help but only if paid $12 an hour and $15 for overtime if she is a second late. Although demanding that Oliver stay out of his way and not fuss if he gets dragged along when he needs to go somewhere, Vincent becomes emotionaly invested when he sees the constant bullying and physical abuse Oliver suffers at the hands of a group of boys led by Ocinski (Dario Barosso).

The movie boasts excellent performances, and I particularly enjoyed Chris O’Dowd’s portrayal of Brother Geraghty, a teacher who inspires Oliver and his classmates not to view the world in black and white and to acknowledge the good in everyone. O’Dowd completely dissolves into character, making us believe he really is the compassionate, wildly creative teacher we all wished we could have encountered at least once as children.

Watts provides a solid supporting turn, and I readily identified with McCarthy’s frazzled single mother who has no choice but to trust Vincent, her irresponsible and seemingly poor role model.

However, the success of St. Vincent hinges on the chemistry between acting veteran Murray and the young Lieberher.  I agree with filmmaker Melfi about Lieberher being a remarkable and rare find. “To me, Jaeden is a lot like Bill Murray in his humanity,” Melfi says. “He understands people, he understands how to react, he understands how not to act, he doesn’t try, he’s fully present at all times -- and he’s still. He’s calm, and that still and calm is irreplaceable.”  

I was astonished to learn that St. Vincent is Melfi’s first feature filmwriting/directorial debut. Fortunately, this talented new director keeps the movie moving at a brisk pace and completely draws the viewer into the story. It’s interesting to note that St. Vincent is loosely based on Melfi's niece and her experience with a teacher similar to  O' Dowd's Brother Geraghty.  Melfi adopted his niece following her father’s death.

The writer/director spent six months tracking down an elusive Bill Murray before the actor agreed to portray Vincent. Evidently, the wait and extra effort it took to cast him was well worth it. Murray delivers an award-worthy performance in this thoroughly entertaining film.

(Released by The Weinstein Company and rated “PG-13” for mature thematic material including sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use, and for language.)