Mediocre Movie Club Movie Reviews

Blue Ruin

6/1/2015

2.96
B

If I was to set out on a revenge spree, this is probably exactly what it would look like - Bryan
An emotional connection would've brought [the movie] up - Sean
There isn’t much dialogue in this movie, but many lines were affectingv-Phil

Initial Review by Phil

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” - Confucius

What a perfect way to describe “Blue Ruin.” Let’s face it; most revenge movies are outlandish to say the least. It’s not often you find a movie within this genre that is brutally honest about any revenge story. Blue Ruin draws quite a bit of inspiration from classic family feuds such as the Hatfields & McCoys (especially considering the setting is Kentucky & Virginia) and takes an honest look at the pointlessness of revenge and the far too simple means of carrying it out in our society.

Even though this is a family vs family sort of thing, we are dealing with a limited story involving Dwight Evans, a man with no purpose in life until he finds one in the form of avenging his parents’ death when their killer is released from jail. Dwight doesn’t exactly have a “particular set of skills” that makes him cut out for the job like other revenge movie protagonists. This, in addition to fantastic directing by Jeremy Saulnier, adds to the tension in every scene where Dwight must fight off the Clelands. Even one-on-one, he’s in over his head with any of them, so we are never sure how he’s going to escape any scenario. Everything about Dwight’s journey was strangely relatable because he was just “a guy.” He couldn’t sew his own leg up b/c that’s something that maybe one in a million people could ever do. He couldn’t shoot a gun either. He was an everyman through and through.

Dwight is an outsider in this world he’s stepped into, and we are discovering how it works with him. The only funny line of the movie comes at the expense of Dwight’s ignorance when he tells Teddy he’ll let him out when he finds a gun and Teddy, almost puzzled, tells Dwight he can get him a gun no problem. It’s this reaction that gives the audience an idea of what world we’re in. Dwight’s interactions with Ben involving getting a gun were particularly interest. Ben gives him a carbine b/c he got it from a gun show and there are no papers involved. Realizing Dwight cannot shoot, Ben switches him to a buckshot rifle. The Clelands have a comical number of guns, and despite getting two days to clean the house top to bottom, Dwight doesn’t find them all. It’s the Second Amendment taken to its illogical extreme to say the least.

Couple the access to firearms with the type of people we’re dealing with here. The Hatfields & McCoys are a strange and fascinating piece of American history. The bulk of the settlers in the Cumberland Gap region, which includes the two famous families, are descendants of Anglo-Saxon farmers from Scotland, England, and Ireland. They are a notoriously prideful people, willing to settle disagreements amongst themselves. The Clelands are very much patterned off this template. Their motivation is solely that of their pride. It isn’t terribly different from the gangland battles we discussed in The Warriors or Boyz N The Hood.

In the end, Dwight “succeeds” in enacting his revenge, but even he recognizes the futility of his endeavor. There isn’t much dialogue in this movie, but many lines were affecting and cast a damning light on all the proceedings. From Sam calling Dwight “weak” in their final interaction to Dwight lamenting the fate of himself and the Clelands due to their parents’ infidelity, the dialogue is sparse and affecting. Truth be told, some of it felt a little too on the nose.

Dwight is a character I have mixed feelings about. For the most part, I just feel bad for him. Macon Blair did an excellent job portraying Dwight as a regular guy in way over his head, clearly having no idea what was going to happen next. He entered a world he didn’t understand and was in no way ready for it, and he survived as long as he did by the grace of God or his friend Ben. The audience winds up rooting for Dwight as an underdog out for justice. He rightfully has no faith in the system and comes to the conclusion that vigilantism is his only choice. It’s a sad commentary that Dwight comes from a place where this thinking is not only acceptable, but almost expected. We hear it in Dwight’s voice at the end, resigned to his fate that this was the only outcome. Who’s at fault here? The justice system? The culture of violence that permeates the region? These ease of access to an arsenal so vast it would make The Bullet Farmer from Mad Max blush? In the end, it seems the answer is “all of the above.”

Blue Ruin is an excellent movie that gives a grim commentary on justice and vengeance in the outer fringes of our society. You could argue it’s punishingly grim, almost to a fault. Dwight’s tale of revenge is not fun or satisfying like many other revenge stories. It’s what probably actually happens when a man seeks revenge. Well done on a realistic take on a genre that sorely lacks it.

+ Unique revenge story spin

+ Good draws from society and history

+ Macon Blair makes Dwight a sympathetic figure

+ Excellent directing by Saulnier builds tension

- Punishingly bleak

Grade: A-

61 Comments

Phil

6/1/2015 10:13:49 am

Not sure why it cut off, but that quote at the top is from Confucius.

Drew

6/1/2015 10:18:19 am

Upon the first few minutes, I was bored. I mean, stabbing the guy for revenge was cool but then it was slow. This story could have been told with the same effect minus twenty minutes. There was a lack in dialogue quality. The lack of dialogue in and of itself is fine but its lackluster quality was bothersome.

After the scene when Ben killed Teddy, I was in. The last half hour saved the film from the depths of revenge tale doom. He found the house, (unsuccessfully) retrieved the guns, fortified himself, and just waited. Like someone who knows the end is a car arrival away, Dwight waited. Then finally, the final sequence, which was akin to Reservoir Dogs, happens and viewers were left with something of Apocalypse Now when Dwight muttered “the keys are in the car,” much like the repetition of “the horror.”

The reason for the slowness made the happenings of revenge real. We all know the dramatic scene in Tombstone when Kurt Russell yelled out “Hell’s coming with me!” and did his search for the Cowboys. Or when The Bride did her “I’m going to kill Bill,” bit. That sort of wordplay is absent from Blue Ruin and it is exactly what it needed. It must be stated that Dwight tried to give a speech but it did not work – see the confrontation with Teddy. Even Ben warned him not to with some foreshadowing in the mix.

Dwight struck me as someone who is unsure of himself. It seemed like would be all in on revenge, then lose his nerve, then do it. That is how he killed Wade and the others. It can be concluded that Dwight’s constant hesitation then reaffirmation displayed a humanizing element to revenge. “I want that person to die. Well, I don’t know. Oh shit, it’s my only chance. Now or never. Go!” When push comes to shove, will you do it? I am unsure if I could pull the trigger, but in Dwight’s case, he made the situation to where he had to.

Blue Ruin gave the revenge story another aspect and Jeremy Saulnier deserves praise. This was a good film and understood why it received accolades from critics, but the initial slow pace hurt the film and kept it out of the “A” range.

Grade: B+

6/1/2015 02:26:49 pm

Couple thoughts here Drew...

1) I forgot to mention it, but the "keys in the car" mantra, while a callback to Apocalypse Now of sorts, felt like Dwight's desperation for someone, anyone to escape this madness. His bastard half-brother might be the bridge to healing this feud needs.

2) Any wordplay like you mentioned would have probably knocked an entire letter grade off the movie for me. These revenge movie tropes were the exact thing Blue Ruin actively avoided. A line like that from Dwight would have been so out of character, it would have pulled me out of the entire experience. You say the movie needed this wordplay and just left it kind of hanging out there. Convince me that it needed this.

6/1/2015 02:51:40 pm

No, I did not mean that. We are in agreement.

6/1/2015 04:14:43 pm

Oh gotcha. That sentence just read odd to me then.

6/1/2015 04:21:38 pm

Yeah, that is my bad but we are on the same page.

Tech Bot

6/1/2015 10:23:01 am

Hey Drew. This is a reply using Chrome.

Bryan

6/1/2015 10:47:32 am

Trying to find a place for direct reply to Phil.

I disagree with the wording of, "Dwight Evans, a man with no purpose in life until he finds one in the form of avenging his parents’ death when their killer is released from jail."

I tend to think he had a purpose prior the death of his parents. I'd say he has no current purpose.

6/1/2015 02:28:47 pm

True but we know nothing of his life prior to his parents' death. I'm considering that irrelevant in the context of my review since Saulnier omits it.

6/1/2015 11:01:41 am

Boo Chrome; yay Firefox!

6/1/2015 10:44:42 am

Blue Ruin Review

This review is a few sleepless nights after watching Blue Ruin. No, it wasn’t from the drama, although Blue Ruin was more intense than Babadook and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Unlike Drew, I was not bored to start the show. I was curious. Why was who we now know as Dwight homeless? Was this going to be an hour of finding himself and developing a plan for an over the top revenge show (just guessing based on what preview Phil provided)?

Nope, this was a thrilling show about an every man seeking revenge. If I was to set out on a revenge spree, this is probably exactly what it would look like. A cobbled together plan of common sense. I loved that Dwight was never a trained killer or expert survivor. He had physical and emotional breakdowns and moments of clarity.

I won’t recap Dwight’s shooting or surviving ability. He made some wise choices and some dumb choices, but wouldn’t most people. I never felt like the director was never setting us up for “Why in the world would you do that!” moments or “Oh wow, that was incredible!” I truly appreciated that.

The supporting roles were important, but not overly important. They helped drive each of the main characters scene. I could have used a little more William simply because I was curious about him, but in the end I think the director handled the movie with incredible precision.

I’m curious to hear your faults with this movie as I really struggle. All things should point to an ‘A’ movie, but it wasn’t engaging enough to inspire a second watch or ownership so I’ll settle on a A- for now.

6/1/2015 04:15:33 pm

You all and your "second watch" criterion...

6/2/2015 04:19:40 pm

At this point I'd re watch for clues of Dwight's life prior to the first scene.

Jon

6/2/2015 04:21:18 pm

The only thing I could glean was a prior relationship to that female cop, likely through how often she's shooed him along in his time as a homeless. We also know he's awkward around strippers.

6/2/2015 04:35:16 pm

The kindness of the police officer implied Dwight is either down on his luck, or maybe just kind and listens. Made him more likable despite his actions.

6/2/2015 04:46:44 pm

Another, less charitable way to read it is that there's kindness in Dwight's life, and he could stop living like this if he wanted to, and chooses not to.

Shane

6/6/2015 03:25:29 am

Curious is a great word for how I felt after the first five minutes. I was all in on finding out about this guy.

Sean

6/1/2015 05:29:06 pm

Watching movies with Mindy is fun because she watches about 30% and works on patient notes the rest of the time. Typically it's a sound whether from a moment of dialogue or a volume change in effect that get her to look up then wonder what she's missed. So it should come as no surprise that when a movie with little dialogue comes to an end she says- that's it, that was a dumb movie.

I disagree with her about both, that's it and that's a dumb movie. I thought it was pretty good but I'm not as high as you guys so far. Phil makes great points about realism and being an unexpected revenge movie which lands it on high positive notes but I wasn't emotionally invested in Dwight and that killed it for me. Bryan and Aprils brief exchange about Dwights prior purpose being ignored because the director omitted it could have helped with emotional connection. At the same time that could've been unnecessary exposition so I don't know how to pull me in just that I didn't care how Dwights story would ultimately end.

I did love the opening with the cop picking him up and bringing him to the station to deliver the news followed by Dwight preparing his limited supplies and best of all search for a weapon.

Mindy did ask 1 question based in her 30% attention that led to a good thought- are all the bad guys just 1 family?
I paused and told her well yes and no, are they really bad guys? It could be they had a dad that was bad and they were living through a similar revenge sequence Dwight was but we're better armed and had more experience with firearms. The movie being from Dwights POV they did seem like bad people and Dwight and sister and co seemed ok. Made me think of a video I saw online about what if the classic Patrick Swayze movie Road House was told from a reverse perspective and Dalton was an outsider bully who murdered a respected local business man.

Ultimately I feel like I'm probably rating lower than deserved at B, an emotional connection would've brought that up.

6/2/2015 01:30:12 am

Truth be told, I was at a B until pondering the themes and whatnot a little more, so the "lower than deserved B" makes perfect sense to me.

Who are Bryan and April? Stop typing reviews on an iPad with autocorrect. Anyway I'm glad they left off any extra exposition. I'm going to forever be of the opinion that underexplaining exposition is better than overexplaining, and I like that Saulnier trusted Macon Blair to build that connection with the audience where the script did not.

I can see some movies playing out differently with a flipped POV - I just watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes last night, and that's a movie that wholly relies on POV to pull you in - but the Clelands feel so cartoonishly one-minded and Dwight is so underpowered that I can't imagine it working on any more than a comical level.

6/2/2015 02:20:34 am

Cartoonishly one-minded, couldn't you say that about Dwight? He's a homeless guy who from the instant he learns his parents killer is being freed sets out to kill him and does so minutes after his release. Does suddenly realizing his sister might be in danger make him less one-minded? I don't think so, the Clelands are just rednecks looking to avenge their brother same as Dwight looking to avenge his parents and later protect his sister.

I saw Dawn the other night too, not enough Franco, Rise was better.

6/2/2015 09:28:18 am

Maybe it's just be, but doesn't Dwight's vengeance feel more justified? He's killing the person who "started" this cycle, the man convicted for killing his parents and getting a commuted sentence for being a first-time offender. In Dwight's mind, he's evening the ledger and was expecting to spend the remainder of his days in jail. The Clelands escalated things to the point where only one side would survive, forcing Dwight to switch from vengeance to protection.

It just felt like from our limited interactions with the Clelands that they were not a particularly deep group, but that was likely by design. There have been several supporting characters in movies I have seen that I have thought could be an interesting POV character. The Clelands did not feel that way to me.

6/2/2015 04:19:55 pm

I guess it depends on how much you feel justice is paid from twenty years in prison for a crime Wade didn't commit. That's a standard murder rap in a Scandanavian country. Dwight might've wanted him to serve life in prison, but how weighty are the victim's/survivor's wishes in sentencing? Probably not weighty at all, or the line for the gas chamber would stretch out the door. My impression of the morality of the film was that it was over, and Dwight started it back up again. I had sympathy for his sister, but none for him.

Lawyer Bot

6/6/2015 03:30:10 am

In a plea deal, the family's wishes could be zero in sentencing. The DA and the defendant basically sign a contract. The judge could deny it, but that's not often the case. Murder trials are expensive and hard on everyone. Why not avoid it, especially if there wasn't a ton of evidence to link Jr. to the killings, which there probably wasn't because, you know, he didn't do it.

6/2/2015 01:31:14 am

When I originally heard/assumed his family had been killed - I went straight to wife and kid(s). This got me invested, though it turned out not to be true. After that I loved the every-man aspect. Even when we talk now my brain goes to wife and kid revenge rather than the actual happenings.

Now I'm tempted to go B+

6/2/2015 03:59:07 pm

At a television critics' conference in 2013, president of FX John Landgraf said that in the wake of Breaking Bad, the middle-aged male antihero story was officially done. No one was going to be able to do it better, so why even bother trying? I was heavily reminded of this statement when watching Blue Ruin. Breaking Bad was saying a lot of the same things, and it was saying them in a more interesting, eye-catching way. This doesn't mean that Blue Ruin is bad, because it isn't. It's quite good, though a little cold and procedural. It also isn't setting the world on fire with anything new to the genre.

That Breaking Bad-ness comes out in the amateur trying to be a professional aspect of Blue Ruin. This is a dominant thread weaving its way through the film. Stealing a gun but being unable to get the lock off of it. Cutting his hand when stabbing the limo tire. Leaving his keys at the crime scene. Not checking to see if anyone was in the back of the limo. All this takes place in the first 15 minutes. Additionally, the camera is left on Dwight in a lot of embarrassing moments, essentially introduced pawing through carnie trash. Some directors would've just shown Dwight dumping out his pee while he's scouting the prison. Saulnier includes Dwight clumsily maneuvering his dick into the bottle. This kind of characterization is straight out of Breaking Bad. I was immediately taken back to Walt chasing the fly around his lab, or walking through a gas station, naked. A director willing to humiliate its anti-hero is a necessary salve if that director is also willing to show said anti-hero doing terrible things, and while Saulnier doesn't have Vince Gilligan's sense of humor, I could see why he was making these inclusions.

Continuing the loose, mental connection, Blue Ruin also is highly methodical like the saga of Walter White. The specific collection of first-aid items, for example, conspires to make Dwight seem more human and more relatable, as the viewer cannot help but think how they would go about trying to get an arrow out of their leg. While Dwight's not as brilliant as Walt, he is equally trained in criminal activity, which is to say not at all, and there's always going to be something thrilling about watching a novice barely escape/think his way out of danger at the last minute.

The comparisons have been positive, but they're going to turn negative by omission. I don't think Blue Ruin has much going on upstairs. Dwight is a completely vacant character, like a clumsy Terminator that's been drifting for twenty years and gets switched on once Wade gets released. The intervening years have been a slow descent into homelessness. The brief amount of time we spend with Dwight before getting the news doesn't imply a life being lived in any way. The death of his parents was obviously a trauma, but it hasn't stopped his sister from putting together something good. Dwight's on camera for >95% of the film, so it's all on him, and while Macon Blair does as much as he can, the character's quite thin. The comparison to Breaking Bad falls apart here, as TV characterization is always going to be better than or equal to film, but Blue Ruin rests on plot, mood, and action, mostly shirking the rest.

6/2/2015 05:02:58 pm

The Breaking Bad connection to Walt (in every way) was a stretch at best. While it may have triggered some similarities to other shows, it begged comparison to other revenge films. It was not as exciting as Kill Bill or Tombstone or other revenge blockbusters because Dwight was humanized. Saulnier deserved praise for completing such a fete.

To argue Dwight as an empty character is harsh. Viewers were unaware about him until the police officer tracks him down to break the news to him about Wade. Did you want a full character breakdown on Dwight? Enough pertinent information concerning Dwight was given for viewers to derive his purpose and understand the plot.

6/2/2015 05:42:24 pm

The hook of Blue Ruin is someone ill-suited to violence engaging in violence. That's very similar to a key aspect of Breaking Bad. Add how concerned both are with tools and procedure, and it's an honest comparison.

You're implying that the characters in Kill Bill or Tombstone are not humanized, or that humanizing characters somehow means the movie has to trade that humanization for excitement. I don't think either of those statements are true at all. We'd probably agree that Blue Ruin is plenty exciting.

The few minutes before Dwight is informed of Wade's release is plenty of time to get into some of the character's internal life. Saulnier chooses not to. That's a choice that worked for most, but it left me cold to the character.

6/3/2015 01:44:59 am

Dwight was unconcerned about tools and procedure. He just needed a gun and could not care less about which one he received. If he was concerned about them, he would have known exactly what to tell Ben and known how to use it.

Furthermore, if the the hook of Blue Ruin was violence committed by someone who is ill-suited for it, then we watched a completely different film. Its draw was revenge, regardless of the protagonist's mental and emotional incapacity.

Blue Ruin did not become exciting until the final forty-five to thirty minutes. Matter of fact, those final sequences saved it for me - obviously, someone did not read my review.

Yes, Beatrix and the Earps' stories were unable to be related due to a lack of the humanizing element. On the contrary, Dwight encompassed it by his consistent hesitation. The former, however, went about revenge with complete assurance and that was a great action revenge asset but lacked a relatable quality for the viewer. Blue Ruin capitalized on it.

6/3/2015 04:18:36 am

What really humanizes Dwight? Just because he is weak and inept as a criminal?

6/3/2015 04:22:50 am

I would say Beatrix is very humanized in Kill Bill, is she basically a superhero from the perspective of her ability to kill, sure but the scene she discovers she is pregnant and has the stand-off with her would be assassin in the hotel room lays more on the table for her humanity than anything Dwight does

6/3/2015 12:13:18 pm

Sean, I already stated why Dwight is humanized in my review and in my response to Jon. His hesitation resonates with me, at least, and it is evident throughout the entire film. You have one instance of Beatrix rethinking her life. Entire film versus one scene, yeah, entire film wins.

I disagree that Dwight is weak. When push came to shove, he killed Wade and the last few Cleland clan members.

It is a mistake to confuse hesitation for weakness, just as it is confidence for strength. Beatrix was driven to take out Bill's assassin group but it became her obsession. How is becoming bloodthirsty relatable? It is not. Dwight did not want to kill but felt like he had to for his family's sake (revenge). Why is his constant indecision to kill a symbol for weakness? To me, that's a humanizing effect.

6/3/2015 12:36:31 pm

This is a tangent, but I've gotta leap to the defense of Kill Bill. I don't have the capacity to defend Tombstone, but with Kill Bill, all the characters are humanized, despite how over the top the whole movie is. I empathize with how offensive Bill finds Beatrix leaving him for that redneck, how beaten down Budd is by his boss despite his history, Elle's jealousy towards Beatrix, O-Ren's sensitivity about her heritage, the desperation in Vernita's look when silently begging Beatrix to call a truce when her daughter shows up, and so on and so on. There are many, many real moments in Kill Bill that are far more affecting than anything in Blue Ruin.

6/3/2015 12:44:42 pm

"Dwight was unconcerned about tools and procedure."

Maybe, but the movie is concerned. It gives Dwight a specific task to accomplish, and follows him step by step through how he might or might not achieve it. The best example is the arrow removal, but there's also deciding which gun to use. Most movies would just give him a gun and move on, but Blue Ruin acknowledges that that's not so simple a decision.

I think we disagree on the definition of 'hook.' If Saulnier walked into a producer's office and said he wanted to make a revenge movie, the producer would obviously not have enough information. The hook, or the thing that is supposed to separate his movie from the many other revenge movies, is someone ill-suited to violence engaging in violence, which is a rare enough thing to be interesting, from a low-budget perspective.

6/3/2015 12:50:43 pm

The hesitation is just one more thing that reinforces how ill-equipped Dwight is in inflicting violence. I don't think it adds anything extra, beyond what the movie had already communicated.

Dwight is weak because his silly impulse to kill Wade put his sister in danger. He made a very stupid decision with no prompting whatsoever. He's had 20 years to put his parents' deaths away; the Clelands had 20 years to look forward to the day when their brother gets out of jail and is then murdered within hours of his release. Their response is more understandable than Wade's, which feels mechanical because we don't know his character at all.

6/3/2015 02:19:19 pm

His indecisiveness was what makes him human. Beatrix's bloodthirst made her a quasi superhero and robotic. She had her moments where she became a person but everything was focused on killing Bill. There was a key moment in Blue Ruin where he wanted the killing to stop whereas for Beatrix that never happened until Bill died. Not to mention that Blue Ruin's ending was far better than Kill Bill 2's. It felt like the coyote caught the roadrunner and we were subject to a completely hokey scene.

I reject the idea that Dwight was weak. He confused justice for revenge but his actions do not make him weak. Being unsure about actions does not make one weak. His hesitations make him human, not a weakling.

6/3/2015 02:52:17 pm

We know enough about Dwight to know how parents' murder drove him to homelessness. I don't need to know much more.

"Beatrix's bloodthirst made her a quasi superhero and robotic. " I love this and most of Drew's most post. Blue Ruin and Kill Bill have little to nothing in common IMO.

6/3/2015 02:55:37 pm

If this film had been directed by Tarrantino I feel like we'd be having a different conversation.

It draws more comparison to 'No Country for Old Men ' for me, but Blue Ruin is more relatable and less depressing.

6/4/2015 08:57:09 am

If it'd been directed by Tarantino itd be a very different movie

6/4/2015 11:39:24 am

You're missing my point.

6/6/2015 03:41:26 am

Dwight does care about the weapon choice and getting caught. We see him in the pawn shop shying away from purchasing a weapon due to the camera.

6/2/2015 03:59:46 pm

The film's status as a straightforward revenge film, and the path it treads in that genre, is my biggest complaint. My favorite film is a revenge movie, so I certainly don't have a problem with revenge movies, but I think of that impulse and the execution of it as so heightened, that a film that treats it as straightforward as Blue Ruin gives me some tonal whiplash. I like my revenge movies big, so the opposite of Blue Ruin.

If the focus is going to be tight, at least give me a morality play. Dwight's decision to kill Wade is obviously the wrong one, from a moral and consequential standpoint, but the film later validates it by saying Wade killed a couple of black guys scott-free. If they had left him as a son who sacrificed his life for his father, it would have been grayer, and better. The Cleland's choice to resolutely go after Dwight's sister leaves Dwight with no other choice. Their depiction is completely one-sided, such that Dwight's mostly right to have gotten rid of them. They weren't recognizable people to me, even as Dwight was in the moment. It never felt honest that the cops were as in the dark as they were either. Did the Clelands own that bar? Keeping Wade's murder under wraps was a bridge the film demanded I cross, while it also made a point of being as realistic as possible. That's a big ask that I couldn't grant.

Unexamined, Blue Ruin is a respectable film that doesn't quite have much going on. It worked on my gut and failed in my head. It's a strong effort from an on-the-rise director, but I wanted more from his film. A big movie asset for me is the impression that the world existed before the film, and will continue after. I got neither impression here. Also, who burns a photo in a microwave? C+

6/2/2015 04:10:14 pm

I burned a bridge to the ground once. There was much microwaving.

I would think there are a significant number of murders cops know nothing about

6/2/2015 04:24:17 pm

Of course, but that bathroom was covered in blood. Blue Ruin brings this on itself by wanting to be so grounded, but first asks viewers to ignore dead body disposal and cover-up.

6/2/2015 04:33:26 pm

Good point. But I'd say at least a 50% chance the Cleland's own it or have close enough ties to keep it shut down. There wasn't another car in the scene besides Dwight and the limo.

6/2/2015 04:45:11 pm

The only explanation that works for me is if they own the bar. If so, this is Saulnier pulling a Lucille Bluth, getting off on being withholding. I agree with Phil that over-exposition is far worse than under-exposition, but how about a little tidbit of information? The Clelands not going to the cops is a decision that drives the rest of the film, and it sticks out when I don't have enough information on this key incident.

6/3/2015 04:24:11 am

It did show one of the Clelands getting the keg from out back and dragging it into the bar so it's not much of a stretch to say it's theirs.

6/3/2015 12:11:17 pm

I missed that but it makes sense that it would be their bar. Criticism withdrawn.

6/6/2015 03:40:03 am

I'm buying them not going to the cops. These are not authority friendly people and the film gives us enough hints that they're probably 2nd Am nutters. Plus if they go to the cops, they don't get their revenge. Teddy said as much.

And it's a rural place. I've always felt like rural country establishments are scarier than the inner-city. Shit happens and there are no eyes around to report on it, not even a homeless guy with a heart of gold or an oddly wise baker.

6/3/2015 01:41:24 am

Kissel, I'm actually a little disappointed in your review. Of everyone here, you tend to be the best at divorcing your own expectations & preconceptions from a review, but that isn't here at all. Just a few thoughts on that...

Let's start with the Breaking Bad comparison. It does work on a loose level, but you had to pull examples of Walter White from two episodes. We had nearly 50 hours of development with Walter White; of course he's going to be a much more real character. But that's obvious so that isn't my major issue. No, my issue is that you knock the movie for not developing its characters when it feels to me like Saulnier made a consious choice to not flesh out Dwight moreso than he was. Several of us have asked what we would do in Dwight's situation. I think that lack of characterization allows us to more easily insert ourselves into the situation. Dwight is an empty vessel, completely unremarkable in any way. This allows us to project ourselves into that situation and make a judgement of how we would act, b/c we don't have to carry the baggage of who Dwight is.

You mentioned in our Mad Max discussion that it was far more interesting b/c characters were reacting to characters rather than external events. I thought that was interesting at the time, but I wasn't sure if I did or did not agree with it. Dwight is reacting to external events. Much like a video game with a silent protagonist, the audience is more able to take ownership of the situation b/c Dwight is vacant. For what it's worth, it took reading this review for me to come to this conclusion... Blue Ruin may have jumped to an A for me with this.

I felt like the strongest development here was with the world. Like I did say in my review, we were discovering this world with Dwight. I'm surprised I'm the only one who touched on the social commentary here involving the culture of pride and ease of arming oneself to the teeth that permeates the Cumberland/Appalchian region we are in. You ask for a morality play - this is a world where the morality was dictated generations ago. If we pretend this culture is like a personal mental condition that takes years to overcome, well, how long does a cultural mental condition take to overcome? My guess would be decades at least. To harken back to Mad Max again, you discussed this with the death cults in Africa that exist; I'm surprised the same corollary doesn't stand here.

Finally, the opinion that you need your revenge movie big. That's all well and good, but can you knock a movie b/c it doesn't meet your frame of expectations. This could just be a philosophical difference in grading, as I always start by asking if the movie accomplished its implied objective. If I judged most movies by my personal taste in how I thought a genre should work, I'd have some much lower grades. (Character pieces would pretty much have a B ceiling for me.) Certainly I'll adjust if something hits me in a personal sense, but knocking something b/c it doesn't fit into a preconceived feeling of how a genre should work feels just a little hollow to me.

6/3/2015 12:26:40 pm

As stated in earlier replies, the Breaking Bad comparison was about execution, both in the way the film is concerned with procedure and in the way both works humiliate their protagonists. Obviously, Breaking Bad is going to have more developed characters, and I mentioned in my review that that’s where the comparison falls apart. It’s not restricted to two episodes; I could mention many more times when Breaking Bad carefully laid out its protagonists’ plans and how they were going to executed, or the many times Walt was made to look silly. These are mental connections I made very early on in Blue Ruin, so they were with me throughout the film, and therefore should be discussed.

I fully reject the idea of a silent or vacant protagonist. I understand why they do it in video games, but that's a bug in video game storytelling, not a feature. It's inexcusable in movies. You're talking yourself up with this point, but you're talking me down with the same. Nothing precludes the viewer from asking about how they would react to a situation onscreen, and certainly not the lack of any definable character traits. That’s a weakness, full-stop. I would instead argue that the reason many of us, myself included, wonder about what we would do in Dwight’s situation is because Blue Ruin is concerned with process. By not excluding steps, Saulnier invites the viewer to guess specifically what Dwight would do next, and is then often correct. The viewer would be just as likely to do that if Dwight actually had a personality.

I didn’t connect to the culture of Appalachia because I don’t feel like there was a lot of specificity there. Gun collectors are everywhere, gun stores are everywhere. This film could’ve easily taken place in Texas, or South Central, or North Dakota. The Clelands aren’t a coal-mining family; they rent limos. You say the morality of the film was dictated years ago, but the world's not big enough to make that kind of assertion, and the sister exists as a counter-example; someone bothered by the past, even angry about it, but living her life in spite of it. She had her parents violently taken from her and didn’t murder someone in cold blood twenty years later. How long does it take to overcome the culture’s mentality of vigilantism? Less than 20 years, because the sister’s fine, and has been fine for awhile.

We’ve talked before about the weight that should be given to a movie accomplishing its objective. I don’t care about that, and don’t take it into account. I read an Entourage review yesterday that gave it a B- because it accomplished its objective of creating a movie with no stakes that was just about pleasing fans and giving them a little vicarious thrill. That’s a shitty objective, and the Entourage movie doesn’t get credit for having indulgent goals. Back to Blue Ruin, if the objective was to make a no-frills revenge thriller, then objective accomplished, but I like frills in my revenge movies. I consider the impulse for revenge a heightened, outlandish one, and therefore I like stories about revenge to be heightened and outlandish.

A C+ means I liked the movie, I understand what the director was going for, and the director did it well, but it didn’t leave me with anything after. See Shotgun Stories for a very similar Hatfield-McCoy story that actually has characters, and is therefore a full letter grade better.

6/3/2015 01:45:30 pm

I'll leave the Breaking Bad and stated objective thing alone. I'm fine with the stances on those, even though I have slight disagreement with the latter.

The Appalachia thing, whatever. I did an inordinate amount of research into the Hatfields and McCoys a few years back when that miniseries was on, so that probably just connected with me. You could make the argument that Dwight and his sister are neither the Hatfields nor the McCoys. Dwight is simply "evening the ledger" and his sister wants no part of it. The Clelands are deeply ingrained in that culture though.

As for the vacant protagonist, you are 100% wrong in declaring it a weakness "full stop." It is definitely a feature in several video games... Fallout 4 was just announced today, and I guarantee Bethesda makes a conscious decision to have a silent protagonist. It gives the player immersion and ownership over the going-ons. When I play God of War, I'm controlling Kratos and his story is happening around my actions. Fallout is a world being shaped by you, with no more than a conduit carrying out your actions. In instances like that, it's absolutely a feature, or at least an educated choice made by the developer.

I've never thought about that concept applied to movies, but for some reason it clicked with me here reading everyone's reviews. At least three of us have called Dwight an everyman or something of that nature. Several of us have discussed what we would do in his situation as well. None of us explicitly said it, and maybe I'm just putting words in everyone elses' mouths, but this kind of language suggests to me that Dwight is our conduit, nothing more. We have essentially his same level of skill and knowledge, and we are in essence discovering and reacting with him, albeit without direct control like in a video game. No, the movie does not preclude the viewer regarding reaction, but a handful of us still went to that place in our heads, so maybe it didn't need to?

6/3/2015 01:57:05 pm

Copy-and-paste laziness makes my last sentence make no sense. It should read...

No, the movie does not ask the viewer to insert themselves in the situation, but a handful of us still went to that place in our heads, so maybe it didn't need to?

6/3/2015 01:57:53 pm

Another tangent a la our digression into Kill Bill above, but the silent protagonist is holding video games back in their storytelling. People play Skyrim and Fallout for the atmosphere and the size of the world and the customization of the character, not the story. I maxed out my level in Fallout 3 and barely touched the main story, which I still haven't played through. Video games that give the protagonist a voice, like Telltale's games, or Naughty Dog's, or Bioware's, are telling the best stories, partly because it's sharing responsibility of inhabiting the main character between the player and the voice actor.

6/6/2015 03:45:20 am

When I'm playing NCAA Football, I'm always giving my player dialogue that he's yelling at the coach! LOL

6/6/2015 03:28:36 pm

I'm more likely to tell speak as the coach and offer tips for
Improvement to the player

6/2/2015 04:13:06 pm

This review chafes me. "I like my revenge movies big, so the opposite of Blue Ruin" this implies you like them to be unbelievable yet you spent paragraphs praising Walter White. Is an everyday main character confined to mob, drug TV shows?

6/2/2015 04:38:48 pm

To be clear, your chafing was in reference to disliking the smallness of Blue Ruin while praising Breaking Bad, implying that Breaking Bad is also small. Breaking Bad was always very big. It was methodical in demonstrating how you get to that big place, but spectacle was a card in its deck, as was operatic. The Breaking Bad comparison is about the skill level of the protagonist first and foremost.

6/6/2015 03:23:20 am

"You like these tense movies. This is fun and relaxing for you, but it's stressful to me. After Mad Max last night and now this, I'm ready to go read in bed."

"I can put on Apocalypto too just to keep it going."

That was the convo Blair and I had after this movie. I am a sucker for tense, gritty type movies. I suppose that's not really a genre, but it's my favorite. You can really spit out a bad tense movie that just meanders about like Out of the Furnace or you can end up with near perfection like There Will be Blood. The line is thin and Blue Ruin is safely on the good side of that line.

The movie wastes no time getting us to a stressful 85 minutes of film. It gives us 5 minutes of nearly wordless character development. Dwight is polite, somewhat resourceful and a self-aware outcast. None of these things say he'll be a good killer and that is proved by his mostly botched attempt at discreetly murdering Wade Jr. This sets off a series tense near-misses that someone of ordinary human capabilities is going to mess up repeatedly and I loved the realism. Dwight can't sew up his own leg just like he can't shoot someone from two yards away. And he can't really kill without justifying it. Unlike most shoot 'em up revenge movies, Dwight actually feels bad and is emotionally spent when he kills someone. Macon Blair does a nice job balancing Dwight's emotions after he kills in his limited dialogue.

One of the most tense parts about the movie is him carrying Teddy in the trunk. It seems like it might be a metaphor of this task that Dwight has to complete. It's constantly with him despite all of the other things he's doing and there is no escaping it really. what's in that trunk has to be dealt with.

I haven't read any other reviews, but him looking at the photo album was a nice touch. It was a further attempt at giving some moral ambiguity to the film. With the background on Wade Sr. being the real villain, it further gave us some sympathy for the Clelands. I wanted Dwight's killing to be done and you hope he might be able to leave the Cleland residence and the bloodshed is over. But that is shattered when Cleland Brother #3 screams they're going to Pittsburgh. Great, tense moment where you're rooting for inaction rather than action.

We also get a morally ambiguous speech from Dwight's friend Ben that is prominently featured in the trailer. He says he might do the same thing if it were his family, but he might not. He has no idea. But he does know there's a line somewhere and he keeps that line intact by waiting for Teddy to take aim at Dwight. Even Teddy reiterates the idea of revenge maybe being noble and admits Dwight's actions would be admirable if Wade Jr. wasn't his brother.

I think there's a bit of a mixed message in the end that maintains that furthers some of the moral ambiguity. Dwight ends up dead with the rest of the Clelands, but at least Sam and the girls are safe. It seems like it might not be worth it and then we hear the closing track about no regrets.

I'm sitting at a B+. I'll read other reviews and see if my mind is changed up, but I doubt it can go down.

Cooker

6/8/2015 03:38:42 am

You will quickly learn that I’m not a big action movie fan. They’re fun to watch, I’m entertained, but rarely will a specific flick stick out for me (although apparently Straw Dogs did based on me referencing it later). Slap somewhere between a B and C on them and move on. Blue Ruin had its pluses (enough to bump it out of the C range), but nothing really jumped out on this traditional family feud story.
My first thought was on the title. I made the guess that Blue Ruin was the name of the bullet-filled car that surprisingly lasts throughout the movie despite leaving behind the keys at times and the fact that it’s a piece of shit. Perhaps it was a nickname given to the car by Dwight. I’m assuming it belonged to his parents and they were shot and killed in it, therefore being a blue car that ruined his life. I couldn’t help, but pronounce ruin like Stewie Griffin.
I liked the opening, especially the little use of dialogue. It set the mood and showed what kind of person Dwight was. You quickly learn the basic revenge plotline. We get murder in a bathroom, an escape, typical action movie stuff.
My first concern came after he arrived at his sister’s house and realized that the family would be coming after them. He sends his sister off and decides to stay and defend the house. The movie briefly became Straw Dogs. At least, that’s all I could think of at this point.
We get more family revenge stuff: kidnapping, putting a guy in the trunk. Trying to remove the arrow from his leg was a little too much, although I liked his reaction at the store when buying all the supplies for the procedure. Dwight learns the truth behind his parents killing, a nice yet typical solution (remember the long-awaited motive in Scream). Then comes one of the film’s highlights, watching Devin Ratray (Home Alone’s Buzz McCallister) shoot some guy’s face off. Brilliant!
This is followed by some slow preparation building up for the intense climax in the house. Gotta love the gun under the chair. Bang bang, shoot shoot. The end. What can I say, a typical family feud action movie with enough positives to boost it out of that C range. I give this a B-

6/8/2015 07:26:28 am

I can't believe you're the first to even wonder about the name of the movie. They should've called it bang bang, shoot shoot

Tom

6/11/2015 03:28:46 pm

Blue ruin was intriguing for about for about 5-10 minutes. I forget how far into it the police woman tells the main character some person was getting out of jail/prison. The genericness of this sentence is a direct result of how engaged I was with any of the characters. The movie did not make me feel I had anything invested in any of them. Ok killing parents is bad I know that, but I had seen none of the pain and devastation it had caused. I did not feel the great swath of time Dwight spent isolated from his sister or the longing she had for contact with him. In fact we get very little in the way of emotional response even to murders. We do get a very tense emotional scene in the diner which is arguably the best of the movie where we glimpse Dwight's pain and conflict over his actions and then a not so subtle egging on by his sister. Then the film is basically motivated by the physical appearance and seemingly meth fueled behavior of the antagonists as the main justification to the audience for their execution. In the end the climactic scene was summed up best by syndrome in the incredible "monologuing you had me monologuing!"

I give this move a C may watch again if others I m hanging out with are watching and there is nothing else going on in the room.

Blue Ruin

2.96
B

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Blue Ruin

2.96B

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2.96
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