Blue Ruin, 2013
Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Starring Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve Plumb
SYNOPSIS:
A mysterious outsider’s 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.
Much like Out of the Furnace, Blue Ruin is a purposefully slow and beautifully crafted revenge thriller which takes its time with its plot, drip feeds you information as and when you need it and keeps you on the edge of your seat until its dramatic conclusion. Gripping, powerful and captivating are just a few words to describe this gem.
Macon Blair plays Dwight, a homeless and heavily bearded fellow who lives out of his rusted Pontiac, steals food from dumpsters and uses other people’s homes to bathe himself while they’re out. However, his life is about to take a dramatic turn when it’s revealed to him that the man who murdered his parents is being released from prison. Taking the law into his own hands, Dwight goes after this man, putting his own life in danger – and the lives of those he loves.
It’s hard to detail the plot of Blue Ruin without giving anything away. Despite writing down certain plot points in the above paragraph, the majority of this information is given to you in bits and pieces as the movie progresses. Jeremy Saulnier’s story is incredibly vague as he trusts his audience to fill in the gaps that aren’t detailed in the script. This isn’t lazy writing, this a belief that an audience can work things out for themselves without having it spelled out. And we can.
Blair is superb as the introverted Dwight and his quite performance makes for a very interesting character. The supporting cast all do well in their roles, but this is really Blair’s movie. There isn’t a scene that he isn’t in and he holds the movie’s weight on his shoulders without any trouble whatsoever. He has very little dialogue, but he gives every line of it with genuine conviction. His motives become clear, you root for him and you believe his actions. This is a brilliant performance from Macon Blair and one that should make other directors take note of his work.
Blue Ruin would make the perfect companion piece with Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace as the two share similar values and styles. It’s a gripping story that will leave you guessing until the very end and it’s gorgeous to look at. Macon Blair is great and Saulnier’s direction is sublime. The movie’s slow pace might not be to everyone’s cup of tea and there is a case to be made that it’s almost sluggish, but if you can settle yourself in for the ride you will get a lot out of it. Blue Ruin is a fantastic movie and should be seen by as many people as possible.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published April 27, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
