DVD Blue Ruin

A very tense and taught thriller that puts you along side Dwight as events unfold. I am so accustomed to the actions of characters in your typical Hollywood revenge thrillers that in my mind I was intensely screaming at Dwight's actions when IT, hit the fan. Then the realization came, this is not a film where the lead character becomes a fuel raged unstoppable hero suddenly becoming an expert on how to kill.

The quietness is very intense in this film and you focus everything on the characters. That is how good the directing and the script are, the film is not afraid of the silence. You become aware of how fast your heart is beating in the silence. The directing by Jeremy Saulnier was handled expertly and was feast for the eyes. Beautiful cinematography and his utilization of natural lighting made it easy to get lost in the film. There are scenes that will make you squirm and there are humorous tension releasing moments, that is how tight the script is you are relived that you have those moments. Everyone in this cast is on point, I did not feel one off key from any of actors. The gamut of emotions that run through Dwight's ( Macon Blair) eyes alone is worth the price of admission. There are some great actor finds and also some actor re-found here. Eve Plum as an unredeemable character in the film. Yes, that Eve Plum. Applauds to the whole cast. The score from the Blair Bros is haunting and never over powers a scene. It might sound like I am gushing over this film, but if you can talk and think about a film long after the lights come up then gush I must.

If you find this film near you, do yourself a favor and see it and be kind to your friends and bring them along. You are guaranteed a long conversation over drinks afterward. This is not your typical revenge film, yes it bleeds, but it also bleeds emotions.

…. astonishingly comes from an almost-unknown director starring almost-unknown actors …. AND IS IN COLOR TO BOOT. FILM NOIRE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD! Jeremy Saulnier, the writer and director, essentially is putting on a film clinic here, and it is a dandy. For those of us who may, over time, have forgotten that a great many diverse elements go into a feature film, and that it is entirely possibly produce spellbinding entertainment by merely getting SOME of these elements right, not necessarily all of them at once.

In Blue Ruin, leaving aside the odd storyline (something about an illicit love affair which goes horribly, horribly, wrong and develops consequences); and leaving aside the lack of "Hollywood" star power (which, in truth, you will not miss at all), this film soars to the heights based on 3 simple things: a script so tight that it squeaks, in fact there is barely any dialog at all in the first 20 minutes but your eyes will be glued to the screen nonetheless; cinematography that captures the slightest nuance, from the blinking light of an answering machine to a hi-velocity long-distance bullet smashing a skull just a second after you hear the shot; and direction so perfect (as I said) that, if the credits said "Coen Brothers," you would have no trouble believing it. (Lead Macon Blair does an AMAZING job playing a wimp who seemingly finds his inner Jason Bourne, and he even LOOKS like Javier Bardem's lost Anglo younger brother — how weird is that?) This film is a treat to be savored. If Hollywood ever woke up and smelled the coffee — realized that quality films could be done LIKE THIS without the formulaic garbage, for example, of a TAKEN 2 — history might well record that BLUE RUIN was the beginning of a trend, perhaps even the "nextgen" of film-making, and heralded many more quality productions like it that were to come. One can always hope…