Friday, May 9, 2014

Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin is the type of film we don’t see anymore. It’s an American-made, American-set revenge thriller in which the cause for revenge is opaque, and the thrills are earned with patience. It’s a film that makes room for time. It rests, it observes. It studies a single subject, but always through an objective lens. It moves swiftly, capitalizing on every one of its 90 minutes by feeding us just the right amount of information. It’s a film that says as much through dialogue as it does through imagery. Focused, visceral, persistent. Genuinely, the only negative thing about Blue Ruin is that it acts as a stark reminder of the absence of more films of its kind.

I was hooked from the film’s opening sequence – a collection of scenes that resonate with quiet, startling power. We observe a man. A silent, lost man. Unkempt and invisible, eating out of trash cans, sleeping in his rusted-over car. Hidden by a large beard and filthy clothes, we watch as Dwight (Macon Blair, a powerhouse of emotional expression), goes through the motions of his seemingly aimless life. But why? Substance abuse does not seem to be an issue, nor does mental disorder. Instead, we watch him read, we watch him think, we watch him wait.

A friendly visit from a local police officer helps put things in perspective. I won’t reveal what the officer shares with Dwight, but it’s enough to restore purpose and motivation into his life. Once he receives this information, Dwight gets in his car (the exterior of which is decorated with years-old bullet wounds) and makes his way to central Virginia. It is there that he is to meet a man. A man who forever changed his life. A man who has no idea Dwight is coming.
Blue Ruin is an exacting procedural; it moves along gracefully, but spares no detail in the events it depicts. Comparisons will justly be made to the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men. In that film, for example, we watch in excruciating detail as Anton Chigurh repairs his leg after being shot. Most any other filmmaker would show just one or two steps of Chigurh’s recovery. But the Coens aren’t interested in the macro execution of detail. They expose every step, to captivating results – precisely what Blue Ruin accomplishes. Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier is not only fascinated with the mundane, he’s acutely aware that in order to sell it, it must be real. Slashing tires, shooting a rifle, starting a car in a moment of crisis – all things we’ve seen hundreds of times in film. Yet in Blue Ruin, these acts feel new, because they are executed so accurately.

This is a film void of cliché, never depending on cinematic stereotypes to sell its conflict. As a filmmaker, Saulnier proves that tension is not created with rapid editing and a shaky camera, but rather with a solid story, impeccable acting and precise shot composition. The film’s cinematography, by Saulnier himself, is a revelation. The lush fields of Virginia create a wondrously off-putting juxtaposition to the interior hells within the film. Saulnier is wise enough to know exactly what kind of shot will best service the scene, and he has the confidence to pull it off. A long but hurried tracking shot through a stranger’s home creates an unbearable moment of panic, and a handheld scene of reflection in a bathroom stall captures the dread of anticipation.
Saulnier shot Blue Ruin in 30 days on a budget just shy of half a million. According to his interview with the Hamptons International Film Festival, Saulneir’s motivation for making the film was a simple one: “Initially, there were two simple objectives: showcase my ability as a director and showcase Macon’s ability as an actor. We needed jobs.”

I love that attitude, and wholly subscribe to it. If you want to do something, do it. To create is to live, to expect is to die. Saulnier didn’t sit around expecting a script to fall into his lap, or a gig as a DP to magically come into play, he wrote a tight screenplay, rounded his friends together, and made one hell of an engrossing thriller. And please, don’t let my purposefully sparse plot details keep you away. This film is far too special to ignore. In addition to Macon Blair’s breathtaking turn (he’s literally in every scene of the movie), Amy Hargreaves, Devin Ratray, Kevin Kolack and Eve Plumb (yep that’s Jan Brady, all right) all deliver scene stealing work you won’t soon forget.

All things considered, Blue Ruin is one of the best-looking, finest-acted, most thoroughly compelling American independent films I’ve seen in years. The film is currently enjoying success in art house theaters around the country. Don’t live near one? No problem, it’s available right now for rent through iTunes. Trust me, Blue Ruin is not a film you want to create an excuse to not watch. A

16 comments:

  1. I loved Blue Ruin! So many fantastic indies have come out already this year. I hope the director & star both have success coming out of this.

    I actually saw a Q&A with them after the screening and they were both pretty cool and humbled by Blue Ruin's success so far. They said that they submitted for Sundance 2013 and were rejected but they had rushed to meet the deadline (with a 2 hour cut). Then they went back and took more time to edit the film and were accepted at Cannes.

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    1. Yes! So happy you liked this one. It really floored me. Not only did I have NO idea what it was about when I saw it, but it was literally shot 30 minutes from where I grew up. So I dug it on so many levels.

      Love that tidbit about Sundance. Rejection is not defeat, it's cause for improvement. Love that.

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  2. FUCK! I just took this off my watchlist because I had other things to see...and now I want to put it back! Alright, I'll be watching this soon.

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    1. Trust me man, I wouldn't lie to you. This flick is the real deal. Fucking incredible.

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  3. Wow... now I need to see this. I'm adding this to my watchlist.... oh wait, it is in my watchlist. Jan Brady is in the movie. Man, it looks she's actually going to create some indie cred for herself. After all, she was the only Brady that was smart enough to not embarrass herself with that awful variety show or be in those 90 Brady Bunch movies.

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    1. Ha, seriously. I think you'll like this one man. Very smart, very fluid. Really curious to hear what you think.

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  4. I won a free screening of this and mainly went because it was an excuse to visit the Music Box theater which I had heard was worth visiting and went in knowing almost exactly zero about the film aside from the one or two line description and image of Dwight and his bloody shirt and absolutely loved the hell out of it. I'm a fan of revenge movies and this movie makes everything feel real rather than stylized, and yet it's still often hauntingly beautiful.

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    1. Yes! I pretty much had the same exact experience with it, except I honestly hadn't read a log line or seen one still. That really is the best way to experience a film: fresh and unfiltered. Really happy to hear you liked this one.

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  5. I'd definitely check it out, it looks like something I'd like, the revenge plot and how you've described its way of presenting things with observation, little by little, it sounds great. Sadly, this will not premiere in Spain anytime soon and probably it would go straight-tot-dvd/blu-ray release.

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    1. I think you'd appreciate the hell out of it. Very patient, very observant. And some great behind-the-back shots too! Hope it comes your way soon.

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  6. Great review, man. I missed this at the Brisbane Film Festival last year, very keen to check it out when it hits DVD here.

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    1. Thanks buddy! Hope it makes it your way soon. This one is not to be missed.

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  7. Oh, I hadn't heard of this one. Adding it to my watchlist now.

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    1. Really solid film. Concise and so well made. Hope you're able to watch it soon!

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  8. Fantastic film in every way. Best and favourite film of the year so far. Had no idea what I was in for entering the cinema and I couldn't stop thinking about but for ages afterwards. Very few times now does a film come along and completely restore my faith in film making and good storytelling but this left me tingling with joy. Such a good, low tech revenge thriller. Have since watched again on i-tunes and gets better the more you see it.

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    1. Yes! Exactly man, I couldn't agree more with you. I had no idea what this film was about, but while I was watching it, I was so excited that THIS is what young, determined filmmakers can do. So glad you liked this one, Mike. Thanks for stopping by and helping to sing its praises.

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