Violet (Alexis Bledel) and Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) (Cinedigm)

The idea behind Violet & Daisy is intriguing. Two young women, who love ordinary things like pretty dresses and bubblegum pop stars, happen to be deadly assassins for hire. The juxtaposition of Violet and Daisy’s typical girly interests against their bloody day job makes for some striking moments of black comedy. The world writer/director Geoffrey Fletcher (screenwriter of Precious) creates is full of avenues to explore, about the nature of violence, innocence, death, and growing up. While all this gets touched upon, no one theme really becomes clear. All these ideas get thrown in the air, and a few of them land.

Violet (Alexis Bledel) and Daisy (Saoirse Ronan, who tread this violent territory in 2011’s Hanna) live in New York City together working for an unseen boss. Violet is a bit older and as such is a bit more confident about her ability to kill, though no less girlishly excitable as Daisy. Daisy has just turned 18, and not only do the best friends commit murder together, they also obsess over Barbie Sunday, a pop star who has just released a line of high-end dresses. Though they were planning a vacation from work, the girls decide to take a job in order to purchase the dresses for themselves.

The job seems pretty straightforward: they are to assassinate a man in his apartment. They disguise themselves as painters and together ride their red tricycle to the building. Surprised to find the man not at home, they accidentally fall asleep on the couch while waiting for him to return. Their target (James Gandolfini) eventually shows up, but he’s unlike any “job” they’ve had before; he wants to die.

They are thrown by his nonchalant attitude. After one failed attempt to kill him, they are out of bullets. While Violet takes off on a side adventure to get more, Daisy and the man strike up a conversation and she learns more about his tragic past. Their quick friendship drives a wedge between her and Violet.

After the girls arrive at the man’s apartment, the film tends to meander. Violet goes off to find bullets, there’s a shootout at the apartment, a dream sequence, and a mysterious woman (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) watching the day play out. All these scenes seem to want to say something cohesive, but what it is becomes lost in the madness of it all. As much as I wanted to connect with Violet and Daisy, they are never truly deciphered as characters. Ronan stands out, though, as the more innocent Daisy, but even her performance doesn’t make her characterization any clearer. On the flip side, Bledel carries the film’s black comedy almost single-handedly, right from the opening scene where she tries to explain a dirty joke to Daisy.

It’s all very interesting to watch, no matter the lack of understanding about where it’s headed. Like a Tarantino film, violence is both romanticized and criticized, this time through the eyes of two bubbly girls. The setting, an oddly quiet New York City, is one of the most compelling aspects of the film. The world Fletcher creates is oddly surreal, though not quite surreal enough for Violet & Daisy to feel like a full-on fantasy. I’m not sure what it is, in fact.