Blue Ruin

A low-budget independent film that is nevertheless handsomely and confidently shot, Blue Ruin is a consistently unpredictable, twisty, and excellent thriller. At no point will you be quite sure where the film will take you, or what direction it will go next, up until maybe around the final scene.

Indeed, the film is so unpredictable, it would be a sin to tell you much about it.

But-- "Dwight is a vagrant, scavenging for food in dumpsters and sleeping by the beach in a broken-down car. His aimless existence is interrupted, however, when he receives notice that a man from his past is being released from prison." That's an abridged version of the PFF summary, and about all you need to know. I would recommend reading nothing else about the story of this film. Take the risk and dive in blind.

I was shocked how good Saulnier, a director I've never heard of until now, was good at generating suspense.

It was accepted into the Director's Fortnight at Cannes.

This is a simple movie, yet very effective and original. With an ironic twist, it has a powerful message that will make you think. It is short and very watchable, and quite memorable. Highly recommended

This movie 'Blue Ruin' has received so much acclaim despite it lacking a star cast or any major publicity that I had to find out why. However once you have seen this film, it's easy to understand how this movie has captured the attention of so many people. Revenge thrillers are about a strong lead character who embarks on an impeccable road of destruction which is heroic and clinical, this is what we have come to expect but here we have something different. This movie follows a down and outer who returns home once he hears the murderer of his parents has been released. His aim is to take revenge which is something he has no preparation for and this leads to a series of tragic events. The film is riveting and compelling, with a real feel of the main character as he goes deeper and deeper into a path of self-destruction. This film is so different, you need to be patient with it and empathise with the lead character who makes some difficult decisions and is forced to bear the consequences.

BLUE RUIN is a fine revenge thriller of the type that you thought America couldn't make anymore. These low-fi films are the opposite of the bloated and glossy Hollywood-style blockbuster and all the better for it. The film I can most liken it to is THE ROVER, a similar low-key Aussie story about the path of revenge and the unusual outcomes that one must face when embarking down it.

To say too much about the plot of BLUE RUIN would be to spoil it, so I won't. What I will say is that this is a slow paced and spare film that keeps you gripped throughout, including in the moments where not much happens. It has a drive and consistency that makes it work. The suspense keeps you hooked to the ensuing events and the violence, when it comes, is brief but extremely hard-hitting. A squad of naturalistic performances enhance a film in which realism is key, and the result is one of the freshest American thrillers to be made in years.

One of the strongest achievements in recent years in independent cinema is "Blue Ruin". It's brilliantly written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier who just a few years ago was making his own amateur monster movies with his friends, some of whom were involved in this inspired revenge thriller that is the antithesis of the usual commercial revenge thriller.

Shot on a less-than-shoestring budget, it stars Macon Blair (best friend of Saulnier since childhood) as Dwight, an apparent homeless drifter housing a grudge against a convict about to be released from prison whom he feels had murdered his parents. Dwight is obviously unaccustomed to violence (he's never fired a gun) and, as in the best of the Noir classics, makes one bad decision that plunges him way over his head into a harrowing murder plot that'll keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

What makes this film so unique is how its suspense comes from slow, quiet inexorable tension punctuated with a few acts of violence that seem authentic, bearing none of the sensationalism or tired clichés one gets in garbage like "Taken" and its tiresome ilk. The triumph of "Blue Ruin" is even greater when one realizes that its director used his own family house and his family car making it, and managed such a height of verisimilitude by using cinema in its purest form. Here an 'amateur' outdoes the Hollywood pros in making a superb virtually perfect thriller that won't easily be forgotten.