The world doesn't need another empty genre exercise. But as Blue Ruin reminds us, it can always use more filmmakers of Saulnier's resourcefulness, sensitivity and quiet assurance.
Overview
When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
With the same brand of realist irony the Coens used to cool down Blood Simple, writer-director Jeremy Saulnier slows the genre's heartbeat to gripping effect.
Saulnier is also a cinematographer, and he's in complete control of the film's conflation of human-scale horror and tragicomedy.
Blair, an unheralded actor, carries the whole picture. He's in practically every scene, and his performance is fascinating because in his eyes you can see the character struggling desperately with himself.
Saulnier makes impressive use of silence and slow camera movements, allowing the suspense to simmer until violence seems practically inevitable.
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