St. Vincent is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Theodore Melfi. The film stars Bill Murray as the title character and features Melissa McCarthy, Jaeden Lieberher, Naomi Watts, Chris O Dowd, and Terrence Howard.

The film had its premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival where it was voted second runner-up for the People s Choice Award. It received a limited theatrical release on October 10, 2014, and expanded to a wide release on October 24. The same day, it was released on Netflix in France. The film was a moderate commercial success, grossing $54.8 million against its $13.5 million budget, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Vincent MacKenna is a retired, grumpy, alcoholic Vietnam War veteran living in Sheepshead Bay, who smokes and gambles regularly. His wife, Sandy, developed Alzheimer s years ago and can no longer recognize him, but he poses as a doctor to visit her and does her laundry. Vincent s only close friends are his cat Felix and a pregnant Russian sex worker named Daka. Despite his aggressive attitude toward strangers, Vincent has acquaintances who admire and care about him.

Vincent s 30-year-old Chrysler LeBaron gets damaged by a tree branch felled by his new neighbors moving van. Maggie Bronstein, a radiology tech in the midst of an acrimonious divorce, and her son Oliver meet Vincent, who demands payment for the damage. Maggie does her best to provide for Oliver, who is ostracized and bullied at his Catholic school, but is a knowledgeable, friendly boy, welcomed warmly by his new teacher. On his first day at his school, Oliver s phone, wallet and house keys are stolen by his classmate Robert. Oliver asks Vincent if he can stay at his home until his mother comes home from work. Vincent offers to continue babysitting for a fee.

Vincent picks up Oliver daily after school because Maggie often has late shifts. Vincent s ideas of after-school activities involve visits to racetracks and bars. The mismatched pair begin to help each other mature. Vincent teaches Oliver how to defend himself from bullies, resulting in Oliver breaking a bully s nose, who later apologizes and gives back what he stole. Oliver befriends the boy, who introduces himself as Robert. Vincent and Oliver win a high odds bet on the horses, enabling Vincent to pay off some of his debts. After staff in Sandy s nursing home have told him he is behind on fees and Sandy will be moved, Vincent steals money from Oliver s bank account when his own accounts are overdrawn and takes it to the racetrack. He gambles this money away hoping for a big win.

Vincent is confronted in his home by loan sharks Zucko and Antwan who attempt to take Sandy s jewelry. Vincent suddenly falls to the ground, and Zucko and Antwan leave him on the floor. Oliver finds him and calls emergency services. Vincent is hospitalized, told he has had a stroke, and has to undergo physical therapy. Oliver, Maggie and Daka help Vincent recover but his language remains stilted till the end of the film.

Oliver s father, a lawyer, finds out about Vincent and uses the information on gambling, introducing Oliver to a prostitute, etc. to get joint custody with Maggie. Having been unaware of Vincent’s activities, Maggie tells Vincent that he can no longer see Oliver.

Vincent becomes depressed after finding out Sandy died while he was hospitalized. He is given a box containing her few belongings and also her ashes.

For his Saints Among Us school project, Oliver asks around the neighborhood about Vincent s past. Later, he nominates Vincent at the school s assembly, publicly declaring him “St. Vincent of Sheepshead Bay” and presenting him with a medal. Oliver s rationale comes from his teacher s definition of sainthood as a person showing commitment and dedication and some sacrifice. Vincent fits this in terms of his wife; he also saved two soldiers during the Vietnam War. The rest seems debatable, as gambling and theft don t seem the best course of action to raise money for nursing home fees. However, the school audience are impressed by Oliver s speech and applaud Vincent who has been tricked into attending the event by Daka.

Some time later, Daka gives birth to a baby girl and she, along with Maggie, Oliver and Robert, go to Vincent s house, where they eat and happily talk.

Cast

• Bill Murray as Vincent MacKenna, Maggie and Oliver s neighbor.
• Jaeden Martell (credited as Jaeden Lieberher) as Oliver Bronstein, Maggie s son.
• Melissa McCarthy as Maggie Bronstein, Oliver s mother.
• Naomi Watts as Daka Parimova, a pregnant Russian sex worker and Vincent s friend.
• Chris O Dowd as Brother Geraghty, Oliver s teacher, an Irish priest.
• Terrence Howard as Zucko, Vincent s loan shark.
• Dario Barosso as Robert Ocinski, Oliver s classmate who bullies him and later becomes his friend.
• Donna Mitchell as Sandy MacKenna, Vincent s wife who has Alzheimer s disease.
• Kimberly Quinn as Ana, a nurse at Sandy s nursing home.
• Scott Adsit as David Bronstein, Maggie s ex-husband and Oliver s father.
• Ann Dowd as Shirley, Sandy s nursing home director.
• Ron McLarty as Principal O Brien, Oliver s school principal.
• Nate Corddry as Terry, a bank clerk.
• Lenny Venito as Coach Mitchell, Oliver s P.E. teacher.
• Ray Iannicelli as Roger, a bartender
• Maria Elena Ramirez as Amelda, a Latina nanny
• Emma Fisher as Bridgette

Production

The screenplay, originally titled St. Vincent de Van Nuys, was written in 2011 by Melfi, and was included on the Hollywood Black List (the best unproduced scripts) of 2011.

Jack Nicholson was rumored to star in the film, but Murray signed on in July 2012. On March 11, 2013, Melissa McCarthy was offered the lead female part and joined the cast. On March 22, Chris O Dowd joined the cast as a Catholic priest. Naomi Watts joined the cast on April 22 in the role of a Russian prostitute. On July 19, Scott Adsit joined the cast to play McCarthy s character s ex-husband.

Filming

Filming began the first week of July 2013, with scenes filmed in Brooklyn, New York and at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York.

Music

On December 26, 2013, Theodore Shapiro was hired to score the film. Sony Classical Records released the soundtrack album on October 27, 2014.

Marketing

The first official trailer for the film was released on July 1, 2014.

Release

The Weinstein Company released the film on October 10, 2014, in limited engagements, before making an expansion into wide release on October 24, 2014.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The consensus reads, St. Vincent offers the considerable pleasure of seeing Bill Murray back in funny form, but drifts into dangerously sentimental territory along the way. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale.

Richard Roeper gave the film a grade of A , saying Murray s performance could mean a Golden Globe .

Accolades

List of accolades received by St. Vincent

Year	Award	Category	Recipients	Result
2014	Toronto International Film Festival	People s Choice Award	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
		Masters Award		3rd Place
	Chicago International Film Festival	Audience Choice Award		Nominated
	Heartland Film Festival	Truly Moving Picture Award	Theodore Melfi	Won
	Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Melissa McCarthy	Runner-Up
		Best Picture	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
		Best Director	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
	Washington D.C. Film Critics Association	Best Youth Performance	Jaeden Lieberher	Nominated
	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Youth in Film	Jaeden Lieberher	Won
	St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards	Best Comedy	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
2015	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress	Naomi Watts	Nominated
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Performance by a Youth- Male	Jaeden Lieberher	Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
		Best Actor – Musical or Comedy	Bill Murray	Nominated
	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Comedy	Theodore Melfi	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Comedy	Bill Murray	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Comedy	Melissa McCarthy	Nominated
		Best Young Actor/Actress	Jaeden Lieberher	Nominated
	Casting Society of America	Studio or Independent Comedy	Laura Rosenthal	Nominated
	Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards	Best Contemporary Hair Styling in Feature Length Motion Picture	Suzy Mazzarese-Allison	Nominated
	2015 YouReviewers Movie Awards	Breakthrough Actor	Jaeden Lieberher	Nominated

Year	2014
ReleaseDate	2014-10-24
RuntimeMins	102
RuntimeStr	1h 42min
Plot	A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.
Awards	Awards, 7 wins & 23 nominations
Directors	Theodore Melfi
Writers	Theodore Melfi
Stars	Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts
Produced by	Don Block,G. Mac Brown,Don Cheadle,Peter Chernin,John Landolfi,Kay Liberman,Ivana Lombardi,Theodore Melfi,Kimberly Quinn,Fred Roos,Dylan Sellers,Jenno Topping,Kathryn Tyus-Adair,Bob Weinstein,Harvey Weinstein
Music by	Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography by	John Lindley
Film Editing by	Sarah Flack,Peter Teschner
Casting By	Laura Rosenthal
Production Design by	Inbal Weinberg
Art Direction by	Michael Ahern
Set Decoration by	Jasmine Ballou Jones
Costume Design by	Kasia Walicka-Maimone
Makeup Department	James DeMarco,Don Kozma,Michael Marino,Suzy Mazzarese-Allison,Kyra Panchenko,Morag Ross,Kate Shorter,Kerrie Smith,Chris Conover,Nathaniel De’Lineadeus,Michael Fontaine,Lee Gren,Chris Kelly,Chris Lyons,Greg Pikulski,Bill Sturgeon,Clinton Wayne
Production Management	Melinda Garrett,Molly McMillen,Tom Prince,Matthew Shapiro
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Ginger Gonzalez,Tim Lovekin,Lisa McPherson,Dixon McPhillips,Dean Peratsakis,Michael E. Steele,Peter Thorell,Woodrow Travers
Art Department	Travis Anderberg,Tommy Ardolino,Chris Brandt,David Branum,Peter Bundrick,Gary Chandler,Joe Clark,Brian Cote,Bianca Siu Davies,Robert Dillon,Jared Goldfeder,Max Grafe,Patrick Head,Richard Hebrank,Katie Hickman,Arlo Hoffman,Daniel Huebbe,Jonathan Huggins,Melissa Jackson,Danielle Keehn,Dan-ah Kim,Eoin V. Lambe,Marc Lesser,Lisa Lorms,Meghan Lowry,James Lucadamo,Julie Marr,Kathryn C. McGinnis,Amanda Messenger,Jack Mortellaro Jr.,Jon Oshima,Ryan Palmer,Rebecca Perrenod,Jimmy Prange,Michael Riolo,Ernie Sandidge,Peter Scheck,Will Scheck,Courtney Schmidt,Theo Sena,Michael Simmons,Michael Sheridan Smith,Hannah Stoddard,Gordon Tanner,Mike Thompson,Marisa Umsawasdi,Graham Wichman,Julie Peters-Haymes
Sound Department	Josh Berger,Marko A. Costanzo,Ian Cymore,Marco Dary,Robert Fernandez,Mariusz Glabinski,Heather Gross,Bobby Johanson,George A. Lara,Tony Martinez,Eric McAllister,Ed Novick,Mary Ellen Porto,Michael Rivera,Kira Smith,Bill Sweeney,Daniel Timmons,Julian Townsend,Damian Volpe,Ryan Young
Special Effects by	Roland Blancaflor
Visual Effects by	Thomas Edward Allen,Osvaldo Andreaus,Randall Balsmeyer,Luciano DiGeronimo,Rob Sabatini,Jason Tsang,Sreyans Bardia,Prakash Pathak
Stunts	Christopher Jon Gombos
Camera and Electrical Department	Alan Blagg,Dave Bowers,Bernard X. Brongniart,Deborah Brozina,David Chameides,Ted Chu,John Coots,Samuel G. Friedman,Adam Hall,Chris Hensel,Jeffrey Hinnes,Nils Johnson,Denny Kortze,Dan Kubicek,Hamilton Longyear,Dexter Loscher,Richard MacDonald,Sean Hunter Moe,John J. Moers,Mike Morini,John Nasta,Atsushi Nishijima,Matthew Passarelli,Andrew Peck,Chad Lear Plunkett,Chris Salamone,Lowell Schulman,Emily Schuman,Ken Shibata,David Stern,Jonathan Stern,Frank Stubblefield,Robert Vuolo,Ethan Wilhelm,Rob Woolsey,Jacob Abrams
Casting Department	Candice Alustiza,Jodi Angstreich,Patty Connolly,La Creme,Dann Fink,Allison Hall,Beth Holmes,Adam Jameborzorgi,Lindsay Bellock Lieber,Matthew Maisto,Kim Ostroy,Anne Reeves,Amey René,Mark Sussman,David M. Waldron,Bruce Winant,Jamie Jacobson
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Laura Barreto,Merav Elbaz Belschner,Susanna Brown,Gerald Crawford,Brianna Cruz,Marta Font,Susana Gilboe,Pashelle L. Latino,Brittany Loar,Antoinette Scherer,Sylvianne Shurman,Yvette Stapleton,Aisha Williams
Editorial Department	Allie Ames,Jeff Cornell,Christina Delerme,Rick Derby,Rob Doolittle,Beth Friedland,Chris Gennarelli,Joey Handy,Steve Jacks,Jack Lewars,Brian McCarthy,Ryan McMahon,Benjamin Murray,George Papuashvili,Sharon Perlman,Zachary A. Schwartz,Tracey Soast,Alex Tragellis,Mariah Breitel Hembree
Location Management	Puloma Basu,Chris Carmody,Paul Contos,Sara Furey,Steve Grivno,Brendan Kehoe,Jess Magee,Maya Reid,Ryan Smith,A.J. Swirz,Scott Tankel,Kendall Waldman,Henry Winnik
Music Department	Bryan Carrigan,John W. Chapman,Jessica Dolinger,Dave Elitch,Chris Fogel,Richard Ford,Stephanie Lowry,Randall Poster,Jason Ruder,Lyle Workman
Script and Continuity Department	Ashley Hudson,Kristin Rapinchuk
Transportation Department	Frank Bonsangue,Andrew Brauer,Scott Bucciero,Robert Buckman,Alejandro Camarena,David Conelli,Efrain Cyntje,Kevin Flynn,John Forsdahl,Charles Hoffmann,Peter Kreinbihl,Ray Lowe,Gerardo Monge,Joseph Paprota,Gabe Turiello,Ryan Walsh
Additional Crew	Fabiana Arrastia,Takara Ashley,Alex Bach,Leah Baker,Cassandra Barbour,Steve Berman,Marissa Brown,James ‘Max’ Bruchak,Malica Chehrzad,Jeff Chena,Amyjoy Clark,Louis Colaianni,Nicholas Collie,William Conacher,Collin Creighton,Frances Fiore,Liz Fisher,Keith S. Gordon,Robbie J. Gottlieb,Lori Hammel,Eva Hannon,Elizabeth Himelstein,Colin Hooker-Haring,Klarissa Jackson,Lily Hayes Kaufman,James Kenny,Kim Krafsky,Yana Collins Lehman,Corie Mandel,Rachael Maricich,Liz Martin,Mari Martinez,Dixon McPhillips,Debra Moore Muñoz,Kris Moran,Adrien Moscovici,Kaity Nielson,Caroline O’Meara,Ayo Ogundele,Sean Oliver,Mike Park,James Parsons,Brittany-Renée Quinn,Patrick Reese,Wilson Rivas,Raella Rothman,Rahim Samadian,Kathi Scharer,Laura Sevier,Sarah Sobel,Adam M. Stone,Cat Stone,Alex Tragellis,St. Vincent De Van Nuys,Orlando M. Vazquez,Marilou Vetter,Ryan Webb,Steven Weisz,Anthony Feliciano,Michael Finfer,Ramtin Ari Sarbaz,Kevin Wigfall
Thanks	Melanie Backer,Phil Melfi,Taylor Melfi,Paul Quinn
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Companies	Chernin Entertainment, Crescendo Productions, Goldenlight Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Spanish
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7.2
ImDbRatingVotes	103792
MetacriticRating	64
Keywords	stroke recovery,next door neighbor,grumpy old man,divorced parents,new york city