Jesse Eisenberg's Underrated 2019 Dark Comedy Is Streaming For Free

Having appeared in some of the best movies by filmmakers like Noah Baumbach, David Fincher, and Kelly Reichardt, actor Jesse Eisenberg has been able to craft a compelling screen image that reveals a deeper emotional resonance below the surface. His awkward demeanor often gives way to characters that are either filled with confidence, resentment, rage, or fear. You never quite know which Eisenberg you're going to get, which only makes his layered turn in 2019's "The Art of Self-Defense" that much more memorable.

Now streaming for free on Tubi, Riley Stearns' highly underrated dark comedy follows the strange odyssey of a timid accountant named Casey (Eisenberg). In spite of showing an interest in exploring the outside world, he usually spends his free time sheltered at home, alone with his adorable little pet dachshund. Casey gets randomly mugged one night by a masked motorcycle gang, which only makes him retreat further inward. Upon discovering a local karate dojo, however, Casey finds himself intrigued by the teachings of the man who only goes by Sensei (Alessandro Nivola).

What begins as a deadpan riff on the "Karate Kid" movies – and which Looper called one of the most baffling movies of 2019 — becomes something much more sinister as Casey falls down a rabbit hole of secrets and ulterior motives embedded within his supposed new safe space. "The Art of Self-Defense" was a critical hit upon its premiere at South by Southwest, yet sadly seems to have slipped through the cracks in the years since.

If you've ever wondered what a martial arts comedy infused with the darkly funny tenor of a Yorgos Lanthimos film would look and sound like, "The Art of Self-Defense" is your answer. Writer-director Riley Stearns — who later made "Dual" — crafts a fascinating world that, while detached from the nature of reality, still conjures an emotional honesty that can't be shaken. Characters often speak their minds in ways that reveal their true nature no matter how taboo it may seem to others. "The Art of Self-Defense," on its surface, is about an outsider grappling with his addictive tether to karate, yet Stearns brilliantly peels back the layers to reveal a dark satire on how toxic masculinity spreads.

Much like Casey's confidence in the dojo, the film lulls the audience into a sense of security in regard to Sensei's initial teachings. The kinship we develop with Casey prompts us to let our guard down because he's found a place where he feels he belongs. But Stearns shoots "The Art of Self-Defense" like it could become a horror movie at any moment. This comes to a head with Casey being invited to join the "Fight Club"-inspired night classes where the simmering violence behind Sensei's principles boil to the surface in unexpected ways. Soon the masculine micro aggressions bleed over into Casey's everyday life, from his music choices to his pet routines to even how he speaks to his co-workers.

It's funny because Stearns hilariously skewers the innate absurdity of masculine falsehoods that so many have been conditioned to believe outright. Alessandro Nivola is a pitch-perfect antagonist who unwittingly reveals a labyrinth of insecurities within his own flawed dogma.

It's hard to imagine "The Art of Self-Defense" nailing its biting critiques of toxic masculinity without Jesse Eisenberg. While plenty of films have utilized his seemingly insecure disposition, Riley Stearns takes full advantage of how someone like Casey could be sculpted into something else in return for feeling like he belongs. 

Casey is so enamored by the "honor" of receiving his yellow belt that he not only buys yellow-packaged foods at the grocery store en masse, he also commissions his very own casual yellow belt to wear outside of the dojo. Casey displays them to Sensei as a source of pride, and Eisenberg really sells the hell out of it. It's truly one of his most underrated performances.

The deeper "The Art of Self-Defense" gets into its world, its absurdist comedy becomes more twisted and mean, especially with Sensei's assistant Anna (Imogen Poots). Being the only woman at the dojo, she's tasked with teaching the children's class because of her "maternal nature," as Sensei so delicately puts it. Casey's the only person who recognizes Anna's talents, creating a conflict between his loyalty to Sensei and his kindness. "The Art of Self-Defense" is an antidote to the rise of the manoverse culture because it hilariously deconstructs how a patriarchal system prides itself on following the rules — that is, until those rules conflict with its ideology.