Homely Dwight is living a paltry and strange life. He sneaks into houses to bathe, eats out of trash cans, and sleeps in his car. One day, Dwight is confronted by a police officer, who informs him of a figure from his past that is being released from prison, but advises him to not do anything particularly dangerous. Immediately thereafter, Dwight turns his life around shockingly quick, planning to carry out an act of vengeance that will take him back to his own childhood home in Virginia, and reunite him with his estranged friends and family.
Talk about coming back from the grave. Director Jeremy Saulnier's previous effort, 2007's Murder Party, was, in its simplest description, a horror-comedy version of The Breakfast Club (and a film I desperately need to watch again, as I haven't seen it since my days of working at Hollywood Video). It was pretty solid for what it was, but I never imagined that I'd see much else from anyone involved, be it cast or crew-wise, in the near future. Six years later, however, I've discovered that Saulnier had a new project out playing at Wilmington's own Cucalorus Film Festival: a revenge film titled Blue Ruin, for which he dumped a lot of money, a Kickstarter campaign, and a lot of unbridled anger into. What it ends up translating into, however, is a beast of a different nature from what his fans will expect.
The old statement of "you can cut the tension with a knife" is admittedly overused to the point of annoyance these days, but Saulnier proves his worth as an excellent up-and-coming filmmaker by finding ways to keep you glued and keep these feelings of nervousness up high. Comparisons to the more heavily dramatic work of the Coen Bros (see: Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men) wouldn't be unfair to make either, as this is a very quiet film peppered with shocking moments of graphic violence and the occasional bits of black comedy here and there (so you Murder Party fans won't feel completely alienated). I suspect that more squeamish individuals will steer clear due to these very reasons, but all of the above seem to go hand in hand with the basis of a revenge film in this day and age. Comparisons to the still-fresh Drive wouldn't be outrageous to make either, as like Nicholas Refn's film, it can be patient in its buildup, though I believe the main character behind Blue Ruin is infinitely more fascinating.
While Blue Ruin's moments of violence are indeed surprising, the (d)evolution of Dwight's character is all the more alluring and tragic, as his past and reasons are disassembled before our very eyes through the stories of others, giving motives behind his actions, be they reasonable or not. The old saying "an eye for an eye" doesn't necessarily ring true these days, since it just begs the question: when does your own revenge and need for blood to be shed truly stop? Dwight is portrayed by actor Macon Blair, who may (or at least should) find his resume becoming much more crowded after this, as he turns in a very understated and quite magnificent performance. Truth be told, everyone is shining here, but the film's primary focus is based around his character, and he has to obviously give you reason to care and does so with a eerily tragic demeanor. He is sympathetic, but not oblivious to his own downward spiral, even occasionally uttering that he himself would deserve to die.
Blue Ruin is an absolutely mesmerizing movie. A moving, startling, smart, and powerful motion picture that deserves to be seen by a much larger audience, or at least by more than just the festival circuit. It is my favorite revenge thriller and character study piece that I've witnessed since my first viewing of I Saw The Devil, and could end up sneaking its way into my top two or top three films of the year when I decide to assemble that list itself. For those more intrigued by lower budget cinema, this isn't merely recommended: rather, it is vital.
No comments:
Post a Comment