Tuesday, May 27, 2014

BLUE RUIN - Review


Written and Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier
Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language
Release Date: April 25th, 2014 (Limited & VOD)
Review By: Sean Kayden
           
Official 2013 Cannes Film Festival entry “Blue Ruin” is a taut, grim and satisfying revenge thriller that doesn’t rely on any cinematic tropes seen in countless other tales. While the story of an every man turned vigilante isn’t anything new, “Blue Ruin” positions itself as anything but ordinary. The first twenty minutes is tense and almost entirely wordless. We follow a heavily bearded man known as Dwight, who sleeps in a broken blue Pontiac and eats out of dumpsters. It seems he’s been aimlessly wandering around for quite some time. It’s not until a sympathetic officer knocks on the window to take up Dwight and takes him to jail where we find out what his story is. While he isn’t in any trouble, she told him about this man (Wade Cleland, Jr.) who would be let out of prison in a few days. We come to learn this man was responsible for a double murder in 1993. As the tale unravels, small things are revealed such as the mysterious Dwight who returns to his childhood home in Virginia to carry out an act of vengeance to the man who murdered his parents. Writer, director, and cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier isn’t afraid of silence here. Some of the most intense scenes have no words but actions. “Blue Ruin” is all about the characters, mostly carried by the compelling Dwight (played by Macon Blair) and the skillful way the film was constructed.  
The peaceful demeanor of Dwight soon erupts once he follows Wade Cleland to a restaurant with his family to celebrate his release from prison. In a bathroom stall, Dwight busts out and stabs Wade. He doesn’t go down and goes for Dwight’s throat. As panic floods Dwight’s face, he is able to stab Wade right in the temple that quickly turns into a bloody and gruesome scene. Dwight sneaks out toward the back of the restaurant only to realize his neck chain, which has his car key attached to it is not on his neck. With time not on his side, he runs over to the limo that picked up Wade to discover those keys lying there. He explosively drives away as the family of Wade starts shooting at the limo. After clearing the scene, Dwight discovers someone else in the limo. He pulls off to the side of the highway where this young boy tells him that you killed the wrong guy. Dwight, fearful that Wade’s family will be hunting him down (after all he left his car at the restaurant which is registered to him) returns to his estranged sister’s house to inform her what he has done. Dwight knows what to expect now, but it doesn’t make anything easier. Blue Ruin isn’t about a man who miraculously becomes an unstoppable killing machine like most Hollywood revenge thrillers. It features a reluctant man trying to save his family from very bad people. “Blue Ruin” is this small, Kickstarter funded film that accomplishes what some of the biggest Hollywood thrillers with big time stars could only wish to achieve.
The indie picture is a classic tale of an eye for an eye. It uses violence and most of all guns as a way of handling a problem. It’s extremely violent at times, but there’s no way around that. This low budget film is engrossing and rarely displays a dull moment. It’s not as entirely slow paced as I’d imagined going into it. Saulnier’s cinematography screams with beauty and vitality. His award winning film is nerve-racking, gnawing, and meticulously crafted. It’s one of the strongest American films of the year and even if this riveting film never garners the attention it much deserves, it certainly won’t be the last time we hear from Saulnier.


Grade: 4 out of 5

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