Blue Ruin Review

Blue Ruin came out in 2013 was easily one of my favourite films of the year. This review was originally posted at Filmoria.

Jeremy Saulnier is a name you better get used to. Writer, director and photographer of the brilliant indie revenge thriller Blue Ruin, he will need to watch his back if he carries on like this. Everyone will be after him and his considerable talent and there are bound to be a few directors jealous enough of his skills to try and take him out themselves. For that matter, the magnificently bearded lead Macon Blair is also a serious talent to watch.

Blue Ruin is the story of Dwight (Macon Blair), a homeless drifter who takes baths in empty houses, sleeps in his car and gets food from anywhere he can. Dwight is the silent type; his mouth seemingly lost beneath his impressively overgrown beard. When he finds out that Wade Cleland, the man responsible for the murder of his parents has been released from prison, Dwight immediately swings into action, carrying out his burning desire for revenge. However, killing Wade may only be the beginning of Dwight's one man rampage of revenge.

Because unfortunately for him, Dwight is no Rambo. He hasn't got the skills, the savagery or the insanity to just pick off bad guys left, right and centre. He is clumsy and clearly crap at all this killing stuff. Though he is committed to his cause and clever enough to carry it out with the possibility of getting away with it, he is also just an ordinary guy. His early mishaps with a knife show his worrying lack of prowess in the weapon-wielding department and it makes him believable, sympathetic and impossible not to root for.

Blue Ruin starts off like a deceptively typical indie movie; all intriguing close ups with shallow depth of field and bereft of dialogue for most of the first half hour. The composition of early shots are gorgeous with the camera later prowling around the dark locations building an unbearable silent tension. The subtle score exacerbates this, brooding in the background and anticipating the violence. Suddenly and viciously, Blue Ruin becomes a black comedy  and edge-of-your-seat thriller.

And when it comes, the first murder is brutal, bloody and swift. The first act of the film ends where most revenge thrillers would finish but Blue Ruin has plenty more in store. The exact details of the murder that has spurred this mission are deliciously drip fed through sparse bursts of dialogue, punctuating the scenes of silent Dwight stalking. After he seems to have succeeded in his goal, it suddenly and frantically becomes clear that what started out simple has just become far more complex as Dwight has ignited a terrifyingly dangerous family feud.

From revenge thriller to home invasion movie and back again, Blue Ruin is never less than absolutely thrilling. As Dwight rolls around in his old battered car, he beautifully blurs the lines between victim and predator. Though he is a man of very few words, he is impossible to take your eyes off. Macon Blair is revelatory in the role, transforming his features so he is almost two different characters during the story. His amateur assassin becomes reluctant protector to his estranged family and his bravery, resourcefulness and  determination are hilariously balanced by his total authenticity, lack of faith in himself and deep sadness he lugs around with him. It is a wonderful performance; at times bringing real warmth and empathy to the character while being darkly funny as he is forced to tend his wounds and deal in death. There clearly can't be a happy ending for poor Dwight who never smiles and takes no pleasure in his actions. He is a man driven to do what he simply has to do and he has no illusions that he deserves to get out alive. However you are guaranteed to wince with him when he is hurt and cheer him on when he takes revenge.

Helped along the way by an old friend who warns him not to make speeches before killing people, Blue Ruin is gripping from start to finish even when it pauses for pitch black humour. The villains may not have much shading, but their love of guns is enough to make them (for the most part) a mysterious and chilling foe. Bleakly funny, tense beyond words, breathtaking and heartbreaking, Blue Ruin is everything you could possibly want in a thriller. Dwight is undoubtedly one of the best characters of the year and his story will keep you riveted. As Dwight travels to another showdown, he hears a song about having no regrets on the radio. Like Dwight after his spree, you certainly won't have any regrets after seeing the brilliant Blue Ruin.

Watch the trailer:

Check out my review of writer/director Jeremy Saulnier's latest Green Room and watch out for my interviews with Saulnier and Green Room actor Callum Turner coming soon at Starburst Magazine.

Green Room Review

Bloody hell, this one has been a long time coming. I was lucky enough to catch Green Room in October of last year, but now it is finally released to you all. Make sure you go see it! Especially if you saw and loved director Jeremy Saulnier's last film Blue Ruin (which is on UK Netflix right now!). But even if you didn't, Green Room is well worth your attention. It's got punk, it's got Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawkat AND AND AND Macon Blair, the lead actor in Saulnier's Blue Ruin. More to the point, if you like siege movies, this is as tense, violent and gripping as they come!

Here's a snippet of my review:

Punk band Ain't Rights are going nowhere fast, playing crappy gigs and siphoning petrol just to keep their clapped-out tour van running. After an interview with a local journalist and a disappointing take from their latest gig, they hear of a backwoods gig where they can make some quick and easy cash. The only rub is the clientele at the venue are far right (or are they extreme left?) nutters and the Ain't Rights don't help matters by opening with a cover of The Dead Kennedy’s Nazi Punks.

However, the poop really hits the fan when they witness a murder backstage in the green room and find themselves trapped in the venue by those who don't want them to get out alive. Led by Patrick Stewart's gang leader and venue owner, an army of skinhead 'red laces' are soon lining up to pick off the band members of Ain't Rights one by one.

Forget Assault on Precinct 13, at least the victims in that had a whole police station to hide in. In Green Room, it's literally just that. One room. The claustrophobia is palpable, particularly as one of the Nazi thugs is trapped in the room with the band. Saulnier builds the tension gradually with plenty of time to get to know the characters before any blood spills.

Read more of this Green Room review at Starburst Magazine. Do it now, do it right now!!!

Here's the trailer:

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Green Room Red Band Trailer

This film is so far up my street, it f**king hurts. Green Room is from Jeremy Saulnier, director of the excellent Blue Ruin, and stars Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots and Alia Shawkat (from Arrested Development). A punk rock band witness a murder at a dingy backwoods venue, and the Neo-Nazi psychos that did it won't let them leave, leading to a tense stand-off with the band trapped inside the venue's green room for most of the film.

Patrick Stewart, as you've never seen him before, is the calm, softly spoken leader of the Nazi thugs who are determined to make sure all this mess gets cleaned up before the police get a sniff of the crime.

I was lucky enough to see it at the London Film Festival 2015 and my review of Green Room is at Starburst Magazine here.

Watch the trailer:

More from the London Film Festival 2015

Captain Phillips Review

Captain Phillips had a lot to live up to after Paul Greengrass' last docudrama United 93. In many viewers' eyes, Greengrass might just be the guy who gave us Matt Damon in a pair of solid Bourne films but to me he is the director behind one of the most tragic and gripping films of the 21st century. He is politically charged, emotionally manipulative but also bloody effective.

Captain Phillips invites comparisons with United 93. Both are based on tragic true stories, though Captain Phillips is considerably less tragic, particularly for the American victims of the stories. Both find at their centre a very modern conflict of cultures. Both feature four armed attackers taking on Americans by hijacking a mode of transport. Both have differing amounts of sympathy for the attackers but much more for the innocent victims. Both employ shaky camera aesthetics to give it an added sense of realism and quick cuts that make it appear edgy and captured by a fly on the wall documentary team. The claustrophobia is also palpable in both films. In United 93, the attackers and the victims are trapped together in the small space of a passenger plane and in Captain Phillips much of the action takes place on a tiny cramped lifeboat where Phillips is forced in to close contact with his captors. In both films, many in the audience will already know how the story ends before they see it. Greengrass even employs some of the same techniques when shooting the film such as keeping those playing his protagonists and antagonists apart until they meet on screen. The music even sounds almost identical, despite being created by different composers.

On the other hand there are also distinct differences between the films too. In United 93, it was Arab Muslim terrorists that took over a plane to crash it into a Washington landmark for their religious and political ideology. In Captain Phillips it is Somali pirates that take control of a container ship, not for religion but for business; simply to make money. While it would be easy to say that the pirates of Captain Phillips are less sympathetic for having no more nobler cause than to get rich quick, it is actually far from the case. Greengrass only barely humanised his terrorists in United 93. He gave one a hurried farewell phone call and showed the nerves and fear that they were feeling before they took over the plane. However there was no backstory, little motivation and even less differentiation between the attackers.

In Captain Phillips however, Greengrass makes the film absolutely tragic from start to finish and it's not because of the threat to American lives, though Hanks' performance will guarantee to have you shedding a tear by the end. Instead it is because of the four young Somali men who take the boat and then begin to rapidly lose control of the situation before ending up the biggest losers of the film. Whereas United 93 ends with tragedy for all involved, Captain Phillips ends with only tragedy for its Somali underdogs. The unknown actors have come out of nowhere and seared themselves into audiences memories. Their terrifyingly gaunt faces are not the work of Christian Bale and his wonder diets. They feel real and they are heartbreaking. Barkhad Abdi has been singled out for praise by many as the captain of the pirates but his whole crew are incredible, more than holding their own against Hanks. I  don't want to sound racist or offensive but they look like skeletons and their faces like skulls. They are so skinny and desperate looking, so young and inexperienced that you cannot help but sympathise with them. Like in United 93, Greengrass uses unknowns to keep things real with Hanks being the only concession to Hollywood star power.

The fact it all goes so wrong for the pirates and that their leader ends up as a hostage and then finally arrested is as saddening as the effect it is likely to have had on Captain Phillips. Even if there have been accusations that Phillips was not the hero as portrayed, Hanks delivers a heart breaking performance by the end but the death of the desperate young men is never completely overshadowed.

The Somali's feel like real characters. We see their homes, their circumstances, their ruthlessness and the weaknesses. The fact that no one was killed proves perhaps that they were not bloodthirsty animals (or perhaps that they simply were aware of how much each American life is worth). Instead they are absolutely tragic young men completely out of their depth throughout. It might play to mass audiences attraction to seeing third world violence and despair but in amongst the real-time blockbuster thrills is a clear and powerful political message. Contrasting the pirates' homes with the container yards makes for a sickening comparison of first world wealth hoarding and third world desperation. It really does not feel like the Somalis have much choice in what they do in life. They have been stripped of all opportunities and must take something back if they are to survive. The young actors give life and breath to the tragically young men that tangled with the far superior American forces. Captain Phillips is an underdog story of epic proportions where the underdogs never stand a chance.

What did you think of Captain Phillips?

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The Call Review

When the main characters of a film are connected only through the audio means of a phone call, sound obviously plays a major role. Opening with recorded 911 calls, sirens and other sounds of the city, in The Call what is heard is consistently as important as what is seen.

The Call sees 911 operator Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) taking a call from a distressed girl whose house has been invaded by a prowler. When that call ends badly, Jordan is left traumatised and takes up training newbies to the challenging role instead. However the possibility of redemption comes when Jordan hits the phones once more when another girl is kidnapped and held in the boot of a car with only a mobile phone as her link to the outside world.

The Call is a ruthlessly efficient thriller that races by at the pace of a panicked 911 call. Introducing the audience to the buzz of the hive where 911 operators work under huge pressure and with the stress of responding to panicked, terrifying and often horrific emergency calls, it is clear scriptwriter Richard D'Ovidio has done his research. The sounds of the phones, the screaming voices and the stakes that are being dealt with are immediately clear and the hive is such a fascinating world that a documentary on 911 operators would surely be riveting.

It is easy to care for characters whose job it is to help people in their greatest need and may never even learn the outcome of each of their cases. The strain and the pressure are understandably great and Halle Berry is an actress who finds an easily balance between calm, collected, steely resolve and shattered wreck when it all goes wrong. The scenes of Jordan being vulnerable and scarred mainly amount to a quick tear, popping a couple of pills and then she is back in the hot seat taking another urgent call and handling it with poise, intellect and care.

Casey (Abigail Breslin) is at the mall with her mate when she is abducted, thrown in the boot of a car and by a hugely fortunate coincidence is left with a working mobile phone. Again, sounds are important as Casey has to listen for clues as to where she is. Jordan has the unenviable task of keeping the teen calm and focused and getting her out of there alive. She is not only 911 operator but also crisis counsellor, detective and even friend. The relationship between the woman and the girl provides unexpected bursts of emotion with Breslin particularly putting in a brave, manic, desperate and despairing performance throughout. Though infrequent calmer moments provide brief bits of humour; Casey tells Jordan Bridesmaids is her favourite film; they also break the breakneck pace and alleviate the constant tension.

Once the chase is on for the kidnapper and Casey is confined to the dark space of the trunk, The Call really hits its stride. Jordan suggests many ingenious ways for Casey to reveal her location and the cops on her trail (including Jordan's boyfriend) are seemingly moments away from finding her all the time. It's like the recent Buried but with a girl in the boot of a car rather than Ryan Reynolds in a coffin. Tension mounts with the kidnapper soon getting wise to the shenanigans of Casey and Jordan and the body count rises as the kidnapper turns killer to cover his tracks.

Aided by some of the world’s stupidest (but sympathetic) Samaritans, the chase goes on longer than it should with the killer outsmarting the cops despite his clichéd lines, behaviour and performance from Michael Eklund. Eventually the pace lulls and in the final act The Call turns to the ludicrous side as the phones are put down and this being Hollywood, Halle gets a chance to get out from behind the desk and inevitably into the midst of the action. Thrill ride slips to slasher movie conventions in a particularly nasty final set piece but both Breslin and Berry make fine scream queens despite the increasingly silly set up.

Director Brad Anderson graduates from memorable low budget films like The Machinist to something more formulaic but also more thrilling. Excellent editing, cinematography and music keep The Call tense, immediate and effective. The script may descend into cliché and ridiculousness by the end but Anderson and his two lead performances keep things enjoyable even as events get nastier and the final scene turns completely laughable.

Release date:  September 20th, 2013

Running time: 94 minutes

Director:  Brad Anderson

Writer: Richard D’Ovidio

Cast:  Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund

 
Watch the trailer:

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