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REVIEW: "Blue Ruin"
December 14, 2014 by Keith
I've come to realize that I'm attracted to movies that employ a more visual form of filmmaking. By that I mean movies that rely heavily on the camera to tell their stories. These types of films often feature sparse dialogue, revealing imagery, and very unique performances from their leads. They tend to speak to many of our senses as an audience and I like that. We get a lot of this in "Blue Ruin', a deeply engrossing revenge thriller from Jeremy Saulnier. Revenge movies are a dime a dozen which is why "Blue Ruin" is so refreshing and satisfying.
Saulnier is a cinematographer at heart, but he has one other feature film to his credit – 2007's casually titled "Murder Party". In "Blue Ruin" he takes a much different approach and the result is a film worthy of attention and consideration. Saulnier serves as writer, director, and cinematographer, and he gained funding after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The movie turned some heads at the Cannes Film Festival and soon found a distributor and a limited theatrical release. Thank goodness for that because "Blue Ruin" is a fantastic film.
The story centers around a man named Dwight (Macon Blair). He's a vagrant living out of his beat-up Pontiac Bonneville in a northeastern beach town. Through a series of informative scenes we see him finding meals out of dumpsters and breaking into homes to bathe. But sprinkled in are tiny clues that seem to indicate that Dwight's situation wasn't always this bad. Things take a dramatic turn when he learns that a double murderer is being released from prison as part of a plea deal. There are clear connections between the two which sends the movie down a tense, violent, revenge-fueled path.
To reveal anything more about the story would be to strip it of one of its greatest assets – unpredictability. One of the best things about "Blue Ruin" is that you never know where things are heading. Dwight isn't a tough guy by any stretch and most of his actions seem spontaneous and compulsive. And since we literally spend the entire movie with him, we're always uncertain and constantly on edge. You never get a sense that Dwight has thought beyond the moment and the film never tips its hand to the audience. Therefore our journey is dictated by every action the capricious lead character makes.
Another of the film's strengths is the unquenchable tension and suspense. Much of it is credited to the above mentioned air of uncertainty that permeates the entire story. It is also due to Saulnier's great work with the camera. When watching the film there is no doubt that he is a filmmaker who knows the artistry behind good cinematography. His strategic handling of imagery, the use of northeastern landscapes, and the framing of numerous shots not only serves his visual style, but it amps up the suspense. Regardless of whether he is shooting a closeup of an expressive face or one of the film's few sudden bursts of violence, the movie looks great.
Then there is the performance from Macon Blair, an actor with only a handful of credits to his name. I recently listened to a discussion about whether a better known and more experienced actor could have added to this character and movie. Personally I think that would have overthrown everything the film was going for. Blair's tepid and reserved performance is an absolute perfect fit for what the character needs. The supporting cast is small but very good. Even Jan Brady herself, Eve Plumb makes an almost unrecognizable appearance.
"Blue Ruin" is a small-budget film that does more things on the screen to enthrall an audience than most blockbusters. Jeremy Saulnier is a revelation as both a filmmaker and storytelling, and Macon Blair has me interested in what he will do next. I love being taken for a ride and not knowing what lies ahead, especially in a movie centered around deep, moody suspense. "Blue Ruin" took me for that ride and I was completely invested until the very end.
This entry was posted in Movie Reviews - B and tagged Blue Ruin review, eve plumb, Jeremy Saulnier, Macon Blair. Bookmark the permalink.
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13 thoughts on "REVIEW: "Blue Ruin""
Tom says:	 December 14, 2014 at 10:04 pm
Great review man, oh man I cannot wait until I see Blue Ruin. Hearing almost exclusively positive things about it. And I am an indie flick guy at heart. 🙂
keith7198 says:	 December 14, 2014 at 11:26 pm
Thanks Tom. You gotta see it. Its so smert and unpredictable. I absolutely loved it both times I saw it.
Ryan says:	 December 14, 2014 at 11:24 pm
One of the best of the year! Glad you dug it. You should check out Murder Party if you ever get the chance. Great stuff.
I really dug it. Hats off to Saulnier. It's some the best pure filmmaking I've seen all year.
CMrok93 says:	 December 15, 2014 at 3:31 am
Simple enough that it works. Not perfectly so, but still enough to make me happy that I took time out of my day to check out what all of the fuss was about. Nice review Keith.
keith7198 says:	 December 15, 2014 at 6:54 am
I think sometimes simplicity works a lot better than complexity. Thats definitely the case here. I found it to be one of the better films of the year.
Stu says:	 December 15, 2014 at 4:03 am
Nice review Keith, I'm glad you liked this as this is one of my favourite films this year. I think it may get overlooked by a lot of people / the awards-givers because it's pretty low key but as thrillers go it's very good and I struggle to think of a better one I've seen all year; maybe Nightcrawler, if that's classed as a thriller. I think you make some excellent points re the casting (I'd love to hear that discussion – why would you want someone more famous in the role?!!!) and the cinematography – it really does look fantastic and it suits the nature of the film.
This was such a nice surprise. Definitely low key and i too think it will be overlooked. Thats a real shame. This is a film that deserves attention.
Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop says:	 December 15, 2014 at 4:17 pm
Heard only good things about this one, definitely need to check it out. Great review mate.
keith7198 says:	 December 15, 2014 at 4:20 pm
Hey thanks man. GREAT to hear from you. Hope all is well.
This is a really a good flick. You definitely need to check it out whenever you get a chance.
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