Violet & Daisy is a comedy/crime/drama film directed by Geoffrey Shawn Fletcher. It was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival, then released in 2013.
It is about two young female assassins, Violet (Alexis Bledel) and Daisy (Saoirse Ronan). While they do kill people for a living, the pair have a disarming youthful innocence that keeps them from seeming wrong in their actions. After the pair take a contract, they find their target difficult to kill because of his kindness and charm.
James Gandolfini, Danny Trejo and Marianne Jean-Baptiste also star in the film.
Violet & Daisy provides examples of the following tropes:
- Bad Habits: Violet and Daisy disguise themselves as nuns carrying pizza boxes for the first hit (hiding their guns in the latter).
- Country Matters: The rival hitmen who Violet encounters call her a cunt among other things.
- Death Seeker: The Guy it turns out actually wants to die, as he's dying of terminal cancer. Because of that he stole from a criminal gang, knowing they'd have him killed for it.
- Guns Akimbo: Violet shoots this way frequently.
- Hitman with a Heart: Both of the title characters are pleasant, friendly girls aside from their profession. It's why they feel reluctant to kill The Guy upon receiving kindness from him.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Daisy and Violet both have them. It aids their innocent, girlish personas.
- Mercy Kill: The Guy thinks of his own murder as this, given that he's dying of cancer. It's also discussed by Violet and Daisy, with them coming to his view. Daisy shoots him in the end.
- Murder, Inc.: Violet and Daisy seem to be a part of an organization like this. They even have the ranks of 9 and 8, with this going up to 1. Daisy also meets Killer No. 1 in the film. Aside from that however we get no information.
- Mysterious Past: Neither Violet or Daisy's past is ever explained. Just how did two teenage girls get recruited and become assassins by a shady criminal organization? Also, where are their parents? We only learn that Violet is estranged from her dad, but nothing more.
- No Full Name Given: Violet and Daisy are never referred to with anything except these names. Neither's last name is revealed in the film.
- No Name Given: James Gandolfini's character is never named, while Daisy mentions they didn't learn it. He's just "The Guy" in the credits.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: It turns out Daisy has been using blanks because she doesn't actually want to kill anyone, even though that's her profession. However, she actually does kill The Guy in the end-though at his request.
- Professional Killer: Violet, Daisy, the hitmen of a rival gang and the organization that they're in.
- Suicide by Cop: The Guy robbed a truck carrying money smuggled for a criminal gang, hoping to get killed since he was dying of cancer. He wanted a death on his terms.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Guy's only reaction to seeing two girls with guns asleep on his couch is to cover them with a blanket. It's justified as he's a kind man, and expected people with guns to come after him (he robbed a gang).
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never explained how Violet and Daisy became assassins, or what happened to their families. The only thing we learn is Violet hasn't spoken to her father for a long time (although she does call him near the end of the film).
