Zoë from The Sporadic Chronicles Of A Beginner Blogger is here today with her review of Blue Ruin for my ‘Recommended By’ blogathon. Read on for her great review, and of course check out her site if you don’t already.
So when Tyson started up his Recommended By blogathon, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get off my butt and watch some movies that have been suggested to me over time and that I keep saying I will get to. Needless to say, the list is inordinately long. Looking over it and thinking on my choices, I ultimately settled for Blue Ruin, seeing as the general consensus seemed to be that it was excellent. What was I basing this assumption on? My dearest Chop Eric, the awesome Scotsman Mark, and horror news king Ryan. I trust them all implicitly. Plus I had to see what Eric would rank so highly that didn’t have any boobs in it, even though it ticked all the boxes for blood!
SYNOPSIS: A mysterious outsider’s quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. – via IMDB
Needless to say, I was rewarded. Blue Ruin is not a particularly long movie, which in itself is no problem. I could immediately tell that while there were no racks to perve over for Eric, the big ticket winner was that there was minimal speech. Not as little as Drive (2011), per se, but enough to be noted for little speech. The film was shot beautifully, it was just stunning to look at, and the tension that was built was done so absolutely wonderfully. It was careful, and a slow burn, but never and not once boring. There were tons of times where I found that while I was watching I had tensed up considerably, and had to remind myself to relax.
The story unfolds at precisely the right pace – slowly and with purpose. It is not hesitant and does not hold anything back, but lays the foundation and the building blocks with finesse, never losing you along the way, and it was well worth it. Starting with a depressed homeless man, we learn that he is rather resourceful and intelligent, and soon later that he is homeless by choice, not because there is nowhere to go and nothing to do. Macon Blair delivered an undeniably awesome performance as Dwight – I pitied him, I identified with him, yet at the same time I figured he must be just a little unstable upstairs, despite what his sister had to say about his mental state. Blair successfully carried this film, he was such an integral character, and he dominated it.
The score worked well, too, and it was great because the music was never the core of any of it, though Little Willie John’s No Regrets stands out for me here, it was perfectly used. The story is a revenge story, sure, but it is not necessarily a predictable one, which worked heavily in the favour of the film here. Also, Macon Blair is not extremely well known or Clark Kent looking or anything like that, and this is not being marketed as an action-revenge ass-kicking type of film, but focuses more on the character and the events than the boobs and the explosions. I liked that. It gave it character and a more serious tone to it that could not be denied.
Devin Ratray played Ben Gaffney, Dwight’s closest and oldest friend. He was really good at what he did, and provided some humour to the film (even when things got a little crazy, he still had me laughing – and who knew, this movie was really deep and dark, humour took a backseat, which is fine by me). Not saying there was no humour, it’s just the little bit that was sprinkled in was pretty heavy and dark, which was perfect. The way Ben stood by Dwight, no matter what, was touching, and it underscored the fact that Dwight lives his life the way he does through choice, not because he is honestly alone. Blue Ruin takes us on a journey in Dwight’s shoes, and it is an important one, something that keeps you hooked and thrilled, and Blair’s subtle performance has you rooting for him from the moment he is on screen.
Watching Dwight hunt was something, too, as it slowly but surely uncovered much more of his character, and he was really interesting, for me. Overall, I am glad I pushed this to the top of my watch list, and I would highly recommend you do the same if you have not yet watched it. It is subtle, it is a slow burn, it is superbly acted and wonderfully shot, Blue Ruin is certainly something I can see myself watching again, what a wonderful gem.
Ryan
/ October 12, 2014Nice! Glad you liked this one Zoe!
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 12, 2014Thanks Ryan! It certainly had a lot going for it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Zoë
/ October 12, 2014Reblogged this on The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger and commented:
I joined in on Tyson’s “Recommended By” blogathon and checked out Blue Ruin. Head on over to see what I had to say about it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
le0pard13
/ October 12, 2014I have this in my Netflix queue.
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Would love to hear what you think about it!
LikeLike
Niall McArdle
/ October 12, 2014great flick, well acted, glad you liked it
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Definitely a goodie!
LikeLike
Abbi
/ October 12, 2014Glad you enjoyed this. So much suspense!
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Gosh, my fingers were so cramped up by the time I got through it!
LikeLike
Three Rows Back
/ October 12, 2014Fine review Zoe; in full agreement!
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Thank you Mark!
LikeLike
CMrok93
/ October 13, 2014Good review Zoe. It’s a pretty simple revenge-thriller, but still does enough cool and neat tricks with its story, to make it definitely worth watching.
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Thanks Dan! It certainly was very well done, I was pleasantly surprised by how riveted I was!
LikeLike
Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop
/ October 13, 2014Awesome review. Only heard good things about this. Definitely on my watch list.
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 13, 2014Hope you see it soon! Well worth it!
LikeLike
theipc
/ October 13, 2014JB,
Excellent!! I’m glad you liked this so much!! Such a good little movie!!
Love,
ISC
LikeLiked by 2 people
Zoë
/ October 14, 2014ISC,
Yessssss! It was so good, I had no idea!
Love,
IJB
LikeLike
Tyson Carter
/ October 13, 2014Apologies for my late response to this Zoe, had it scheduled it whilst I was away. Bought this movie when it came out but still not watched it. Never seen a bad word against it though. Great write up as always, and thanks so much for joining in my project 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Zoë
/ October 14, 2014🙂 Anytime Tyson, no worries! Hope you were away on holiday! 🙂 Hmmmm, you should check it out, I think you might really like it!
I had a blast, thank you!
LikeLike
Consumed by Film
/ October 14, 2014I loved this when I saw it back in May and even had it as my top film of the year so far back in July. It’s certainly still up there! Excellent review Zoë.
Adam.
LikeLike
Zoë
/ October 14, 2014Thanks Adam! It certainly is a solid film, one I will definitely be revisiting!
LikeLike
Mark Walker
/ October 14, 2014Great stuff, Zoe. Glad to hear you actually listen to anything I have to say and even more pleased that you enjoyed this one. I thought it was fantastic! One if the years best so far!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tom
/ October 14, 2014Well, Zoe sure may pay attention to your ramblings, but. . . I don’t. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mark Walker
/ October 14, 2014Haha! Honesty is the best policy, man! I appreciate that! 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tom
/ October 14, 2014All in jest my friend. All in jest.
LikeLike
Mark Walker
/ October 14, 2014Really? I was about to say the same about your ramblings! Glad I didn’t say that, now that you’ve taken it back 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tom
/ October 14, 2014Oh, I definitely ramble. Lol.
Wish WordPress had some kind of word-count. I wanna know how many I average. Hah! How’s things on your end man? Seen anything new recently that was excellent? Gone Girl, perhaps?
LikeLike
Mark Walker
/ October 14, 2014Just got back to blogging buddy. Coupla posts up in the last few days. Not seen anything too recent except Sin City 2. Big disappointment! I did, however, love Michael Fassbenders Frank!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tom
/ October 15, 2014You take that back about Sin City 2.
Best Picture contender right there.
LikeLike
Mark Walker
/ October 15, 2014Ha! I’ve yet to catch up with lots of films but I’m afraid Sin City has been my biggest disappointment. I wish it were otherwise. I truly do! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tyson Carter
/ October 14, 2014I think I’m alone in not loving Gone Girl………great 1st half, average 2nd half.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tom
/ October 15, 2014Not alone. I’ve read some less-than-enthusiastic reviews from a few other folks. 🙂
But I can get behind what you’re saying; the movie may have lessened in quality as it went on. I’ll have to watch this one again for sure. Mostly so I can get a grip on how ridiculous it all was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Zoë
/ October 15, 2014Thanks Mark! Of course I listen! 😀 It really is right up there for me, I was particularly keen on this one, it worked so well!
LikeLike
Tom
/ October 14, 2014Awesome work Zoe, still need to see Blue Ruin. Love the title and the character Mr. Blair plays seems fascinating. Can’t wait to see how he gets his ‘revenge’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Zoë
/ October 15, 2014Thanks Tom! I would love to hear your thoughts on it, it is a great little film that came together exceptionally well! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person