Ever since my early days of watching ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000,’ I have uttered the phrase (or thought of it, to myself), “We have a title!” when I see or hear the reference while watching a film. In the case of one of the latest originals from Netflix, “Velvet Buzzsaw,” it came a good half hour in and was represented by a tattoo, with very little explanation, to follow. So, what does it mean to the story?

There is an answer, but it does not come clearly and is not primal. Then again, “Velvet Buzzsaw” does not tend to be a linear movie, in general. Think: quick pacing and sharp delivery, no pun intended. Quite simply, the character to best represent this concept is the one portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal (“Wildlife”) as Mort Vandewalt. He is an outspoken critic of pop art, in the Los Angeles region, and he is as stylish as he is offbeat. Over the years, I have taken more and more of an interest in Gyllenhaal’s work. He seems to have the uncanny ability to carry a film and save it from the brink of total disaster. Of course, one would hope that this challenge is not replicated too often. After all, we all have our limits, depending on the size of the cup, so to speak.

“Velvet Buzzsaw” was directed by Dan Gilroy, who also wrote the screenplay. For those of you unfamiliar with his name, he filled the same roles for the 2014 film “Nightcrawler,” which also starred Jake Gyllenhaal, though his part was much more significant that time around. Here, again, was Rene Russo (“Avengers: Endgame”) as Rhodora Haze, an agent of sorts, for those who wish to buy and/or sell art, in the area. She has been involved in this world for many years and has some rather ominous tattoos on her body, including one on the inside of her left wrist, reading “no death, no art, 1983.” However, the body art displays the most interesting aspect of this character, throughout the movie and, unfortunately, aside from a few moments, here and there, there is little deviation for the majority of the cast, as talented as they are, on paper.

Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) as Gretchen and John Malkovich (“Bird Box”) as Piers perform adequately with what they are given, which is not much. Gretchen, Rhodora Haze, puts on art shows, but is much more direct and aggressive when she is goin after what she wants and Collette’s humorous deliveries are pretty spot-on. Aside from Jake Gyllenhaal, she is probably the next, most-effective character in the movie. Although I have had hit-or-miss reactions with Malkovich’s performances, over the years, he had one, specific scene that I thought was cleverly-shot and without his execution, it simply would not happen. It involves an empty gallery with a basketball hoop and a whole basket of balls. Watch for the symbolic interaction between the business discussion goin on in the scene and what Piers is doing with the basketballs, in hand.

The rest of the cast is a collection of less-familiar actors and actresses. Heading the crowd is Zawe Ashton (“Greta”) as Josephina. She has a distinct look and exudes sexuality. Her performance is pretty understated, though, and when she is on her own, the scenes are not as strong. Natalia Dyer (“Stranger Things”) as Coco, plays a small role, but one that is unique and, somehow, funny. Without giving too much away, she has incredible timing, although I cannot say it is good, given the nature of the plot. I probably would not even remember her if it were not for this. The most interesting inclusion to the cast is Sedale Threatt Jr. as Ed. He is basically only in one scene, but for anyone who knows professional basketball, from the 1980s and ‘90s, you might recognize him as the son of Sedale Threatt, who played, most notably, for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. At the very least, he was willing to, uh, “show” us who he is, on screen, which cannot be said for even some of the most-seasoned actors.

Perhaps if I spent more time watching shows on television, I would know who more of these people are, but in several circumstances, I found myself thinking that the actor or actress I was watching was really a “discount” version of someone else, more prominent. I do not say these things to be insulting. This is actually a major part of filmmaking. Every movie has a budget and hardly anyone can afford to attract or obtain every big-named actor or actress for every role available.

There were details about “Velvet Buzzsaw” that I liked, such as the opening title sequence, which looked and sounded like the opening to the film adaptation of “American Psycho.” I wish I knew if it was intentional, but to me, it certainly seemed that way and I liked it. There are a couple of “lifeless” characters who play a very important part in the story, overall. One is synthetic, but oddly comedic. The other is something of an unseen force, manipulating and controlling the lives and minds of anyone who challenges him, which involves quite a few of the primary characters.

I do not think of “Velvet Buzzsaw” as a horror film, which it claims to be on its profile page, even though it is modified as “satirical,” as well, which I believe it is really trying to be. There are elements of body horror, which was a pretty popular genre in the 1980s. I think of this as something of a hybrid of “American Psycho” and “Art School Confidential.” I enjoyed both of those movies, by the way, more than I enjoyed this one. This is not a bad film, but in summation, without the brilliance of Jake Gyllenhaal, the movie fails, in my view. Sort of like Denzel Washington in “The Equalizer.”

Director: Dan Gilroy
Screenwriter: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton, Tom Sturridge, Natalia Dyer, Daveed Diggs, Billy Magnussen and John Malkovich
Distributor: Netflix
Release: February 1st, 2019