BLUE RUIN B
USA (92 mi) 2013
‘Scope d: Jeremy Saulnier
Jeremy Saulnier was the superb cinematographer in Matthew
Porterfield’s experimental films HAMILTON (2006) and Putty Hill
(2010), while making his first feature MURDER PARTY (2007, which could easily
be the title of this film as well), a kind of comic Halloween bloodbath, while still
holding onto a career in advertising, creating product videos for Kraft Foods,
IBM, Viacom, and the NHL. This second
film was the winner of the Director’s Fortnight FIPRESCI Award at Cannes 2013,
a marked upgrade in critical acclaim, an ultra stylish revenge thriller made on
the cheap, featuring the director’s childhood best friend as the lead actor and
executive producer, Macon Blair as Dwight, a homeless man living in his rusted
out blue Pontiac on the beach, where the opening sequence replicates Morris
Engel’s often overlooked American indie film Little
Fugitive (1953), where Dwight similarly hides out under protective cover at
the local amusement park, also picking up disposable bottles left laying about
and returning them to recycling centers for cash, where immediately we get the
feel this is an eccentric and possibly creepy guy living on the fringes. The cops pick him up not for anything he’s
done, but to warn him that the convicted dual murderer of his mother and father
is being released from jail soon, which sets a series of events in motion, such
as an ominous visit to the local gun shop.
Saulnier does a good job playing with the audience’s expectations,
always throwing them a bit off kilter, using plenty of odd humor
throughout. What this really comes down
to is watching a geeky loner who has spent his life avoiding people, who barely
talks to anyone, suddenly going after the Cleland family, savagely gruesome, grindhouse
B-movie characters in the mold of Rob Zombie’s THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005), a
film that took sadistic trailer trash and elevated it to an art form.
The audience knows Dwight is in over his head, and every
conceivable plan he comes up with goes haywire, but Saulnier amps up the
suspense throughout, knowing full well that the audience can’t take their eyes
off this foolhardy attempt to exact revenge for his family. Why he feels the need to pull this off, we’ll
never know, as this writer/director confidently leaves out plenty of back
story, luring us right into the middle of the action, which at times is fast
and fierce, while at other times there’s a lull between the storms, where like
a cat, Dwight disappears and licks his wounds.
Acting against type, Dwight surprises us with is ingenuity, though it’s
sheer damn luck that seems to get him out of situations, certainly not
forethought, as most of the time he responds to pure kneejerk reactions, such
as the moment of truth when he springs upon his prey like a man possessed, an
unflinching moment of violence reminiscent of a similar moment in Jacques
Audiard’s 2010
Top Ten Films of the Year: #10 A Prophet .... Once he crosses the line, there’s no turning
back, as neither he nor the audience have a clue what’s in store for him. The things that catch his eye are often
weirdly amusing, or just plain odd, but he has the good sense to rely upon the
help of others, starting out with his sister Sam (Amy Hargreaves), who nearly
busts his chops for reviving this blood feud, as she’s now with two children
and a home, making her a convenient target. From that point on, the film seems to take on
a life of its own, as it’s Jamie Lee Curtis preparing to meet the bogeyman in
HALLOWEEN (1978).
Tracking down another friend is inspired by a scan through
Dwight’s high school yearbook, where Devin Ratray as local war veteran Ben is
the best thing in the picture, as he steals every scene he’s in. Ben isn’t sure what to make of Dwight’s
situation at all, and since he’s the one usually perceived as having a screw
loose, Dwight must be in sick trouble, but he tries his best to help him out,
only sensing what deep shit he must be in.
But Dwight, being who he is, continues to fuck up, but he’s a lovable
loser who’s forced to turn into some kind of super sleuth and RAMBO-like
warrior on the loose. Vigilante justice
is a genre unto itself, and this director seems to enjoy changing the rules of
the game, shifting genres, and putting his lead character into ever more
increasing danger, adding dark noirish elements throughout, anything to
heighten the atmospheric mood. The film
is fraught with tension, but takes a predictable turn by the end, where the
story simply runs out of options, though seeing Eve Plumb from The Brady Bunch (1969-74) as the redneck
mama urging her boys to kill this son-of-a-bitch has a charm all its own. It gets a little dicey, where family secrets
are finally revealed, but this plays out like mafia families who vow revenge,
refusing to back down under any circumstances, as if it’s a matter of
honor. Well, there’s little honor to
speak of, and the moral grounds crossed by all participants keeps the audience guessing
what will happen next. It’s a taut
thriller, dark and highly entertaining, continually atmospheric, well written
and well directed, with a refreshing take on familiar themes.
