Blue Ruin - B

Rated R, 92 minutes

 

“Blue Ruin” a tense, dark revenge thriller that allows the weak to become strong

 

“Blue Ruin”is the dark, intense new thriller about family ties and revenge that will likely be one of the year’s best movies about revenge made by and starring people you haven’t heard of. Directed, written and photographed by Jeremy Saulnier (“Murder Party”) and starring frequent collaborator and childhood friend Macon Blair, it’s brooding and engaging, even if it’s slow pacing relies on a handful of all-too familiar cinematic conventions. Blair is Dwight Evans, a homeless drifter traumatized by the murder of his parents 20 years earlier by the jilted spouse whose wife was having an affair with Dwight’s father. When the supposed killer is released, it propels Dwight to take matters into his own hands, erupting into a war between he and the killer’s dangerous extended family. Filmed on location in Virginia, Delaware and surrounding states, with the gripping, well-acted “Blue Ruin,” Saulnier mines the fascination behind Dwight’s revenge, given that Dwight is more or less a normal schlump thrust into a situation he’d rather not be in. Newcomer Blair, whose screen credits have been limited to most projects with old friend Saulnier, he provides a humanity to Dwight and allowing him to rise from weakling to temporary assassin, and how important family ties are to him. Unfortunately, they’re also important to the killer’s family, which provokes Dwight to rise up and become an unwitting hero. “Blue Ruin” will likely be most notable for the supporting roles, played by some familiar faces you may not have seen in awhile. Watch for “Homeland’s” Amy Hargreaves in a brief, affecting role as Dwight’s sister, former child actor Devin Ratray (Buzz from the “Home Alone” films) stealing scenes as a high school pal who schools him in the art of guns, and in a nice bit of stunt casting, Eve Plumb (aka Jan Brady from “The Brady Bunch”) in a brief cameo in the film’s climax. The dark film is peppered with blood and intensity, particularly a home invasion scene and the gripping climax, alternated with Dwight’s coming-of-age as a killer himself. The last act is a bit predictable and leans toward the tragic side, but “Blue Ruin” is an often fascinating, if not overly downbeat, look at how important family is to some.

 

Wes’s Grade: B