Blue Ruin
Starring: Macon Blair, Amy Hargreaves, Bonnie Johnson,
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Rating: 4.5/5
Blue Ruin is one of the movies that has lit up the festival circuit this year, and when it hit the big screen, it wasn’t hard to see why everyone had been getting really excited about this movie.
Blue Ruin follows a mysterious outsider whose quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance.
Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
Blue Ruin was one of the movies that I tipped to be a great summer movie if you were looking for something that wasn’t a blockbuster or superhero film… it really is a terrific watch.
Blue Ruin is a film that has been surrounded in hype and great reviews on the festival circuit, and so often we see the movies not live up to that hype - I am pleased to say that Blue Ruin is one of those movies that bucks that trend.
This is only the second feature film for writer and director Jeremy Saulnier, and he is a filmmaker to really keep and eye on over the next couple of years; I am really looking forward to seeing how his career is going to progress.
He has created a smart, atmospheric, and violent revenge thriller that will keep you glued to the screen from start to finish. The big screen is regularly littered with revenge thrillers, but Blue Ruin really is a classy piece of work.
I would go as far to say that Blue Ruin is a thoughtful film that doesn’t fall into the traps that so often catches films in this genre out - no clichés here, of that you can be absolutely sure.
Macon Blair may not be a household name, but he delivers a fantastic and memorable performance in the central role of Dwight.
Dwight is one of the most likely avengers/anti-hero, and this is what makes him such a great character. He doesn’t go from normal man to cold-hearted killer in the blink of an eye - as so many do - he is a normal man who struggles with the task that he has set out to achieve.
And it is this that makes him such a fascinating character… I have to say, Dwight is a man that I really was rooting for.
Add Blair’s great performance to Saulnier’s strong direction and you really have a film that you cannot miss. Saulnier notches up the tension scene by scene as he slowly builds the suspense.
Blue Ruin is one of the best revenge thrillers that I have had the chance to see this year, as Saulnier delivers a movie that is stripped back and is at its bloody and violent best. Not to be missed!!!
Blue Ruin is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.