'The Art of Self-Defense' is a likely cult black comedy classic

Jesse Eisenberg has carved out a career played hyperactive nervous nellies who speak as if they are on a timer that's about to go off. And in The Art of Self Defense one could argue that he delivers the definitive version of that character.

He plays a nerdy accountant named Casey (he is routinely mocked for having a feminine name) who is bullied both at work and outside of it. An unusual set of circumstances leads to his investing in karate to both protect himself but also change his personality and lifestyle.

At the dojo he becomes the prized student of the Sensei, played indelibly by character actor Alessandro Nivola.

If the Academy Awards was ever cool enough to consistently reward great comedic turns, Nivola should be in the running for Best Supporting Actor. He has one of the best deadpan deliveries I've ever seen, and he nearly steals this movie.

This is ironic, since at the premiere of the film (which I was lucky enough to attend) Nivola says he got the part just three days before filming began. Although the writer-director Riley Stearns insisted he was first choice, Nivola believed he'd replaced someone who'd dropped out.

Alessandro Nivola

Anyway, the film has a very funny arc -- Eisenberg becomes obsessed with karate and it does lead to him being a much more confident and combative person but then as he is drawn further into Nivola's world the comedy in this film gets blacker and more violent in ways that will either shock audiences or delight them.

I am in the latter category. The Fist Foot Way, for my money, is the definitive comedy about karate -- but The Art of Self-Defense is less about the fighting and more about the mind. Both lead characters are victims of toxic masculinity on either end of the spectrum.

Eisenberg is driven to do 'bad things' out of some sense that he must do them to prove his manhood. Nivola does terrible things and justifies them because of his sense of manhood.

Now, the movie doesn't really delve to deep into these issues -- it's a comedy at the end of the day. But there's a nice, smart undercurrent running through the movie even if the characters are oblivious to it. And it has one of the more jarring, satisfying endings I've seen in a movie in quite some time.

I have no idea what its commercial prospects are -- the violence is visceral, but it has the makings of a beloved cult classic.