Blue Ruin

Jeremy Saulnier's debut film was the love it or hate it Murder Party back in 2007. The good news for Saulnier was that enough people must have enjoyed it for him to get a second crack at the big screen (albeit a number of years later). It's also good news for the cinema going public as Blue Ruin is one of the thrillers of the year. A slow moving story of revenge punctuated with scenes of tension and high violence, Saulnier's film has struggled to get a mainstream release and returned only average box office. I would say that's a travesty, but hardly surprising given that (political comment alert!) film audiences are becoming less cerebral year on year. Though the producers do have themselves somewhat to blame as well, what with the awkward film title and marketing campaign that at times just seemed to centre around a bearded hobo in a vest. Said vagrant is Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) who, on hearing that the man who murdered his parents is to be released from prison, returns to his home town in order to gain brutal revenge. However, when things don't go quite to plan Evans finds himself in a desperate battle against the local hoodlums who want to bump him off and his estranged family. To say more would be to spoil what is a cracking film, told with economy and efficiency by Saulnier. Where the film really works is that Saulnier's script is the inverse to the perfectly planned "hit". Everything's a struggle for Dwight, from the moment he steals a gun, swiftly followed by the realisation he won't be able to use it, to a hilarious moment at one of the film's key points where he's interrupted by someone asking him to pass the Ketchup. It's nice touches like this from Saulnier's writing that give this a real-life feel as opposed to watching fiction. Overall there's comparison with the Coen Brothers (and I'm taking good Coen Brothers here) what with the moments of black comedy and fierceness (brace yourself for one of the most gruesome head shots since John Hillcoat's The Proposition) mixed in with the straightforward narrative. Blair is great in the lead role, his everyday man looks (think Nathan Lane meets Kermit The Frog) just adding to the feel that this could be a tangible tale you'd read in the paper one day. No doubt this is destined to become a cult favourite, with a number of quotable on-liners, not least when Dwight, showing that this is a tragedy at heart, utters "You know what's awful? Just 'cause my Dad loved your Mum, we all end up dead....and he was right". This is film making for adults at its best. Rating: 8/10.