Blue Ruin

An intense feeling of unease from start to finish and long after the film has ended. Blue Ruin (a more fitting title might be “I Piss on Your Grave”) works flawlessly as a pure, visceral revenge movie (probably without “rape”, but that’s not entirely clear). Saulnier restricts the not very communicative narrative’s scope of awareness to what the protagonist perceives and feels. The soundtrack disturbingly mixes subjective auditory perceptions with the actual sounds of the setting, so we are never sure if a real threat is approaching or if Dwight is just humming in his head. The realistic details (pulling out an arrow, turning off the water and switching off the light, stress-induced vomiting) also play a significant part in the emotional absorption, making us aware that the rules in this world are quite similar to those in our world (which may sound like a banality, but it is definitely not an established standard in American genre films). Only the characters here act with animal instinct according to the elementary evolutionary model of “kill or be killed”. Like good old cowboy movies, where there was no room for drawn-out consideration and speeches, where the conflict between civilisation and wilderness (here directly embodied in the main protagonist, standing on the boundary of these two spaces) was also an eternal issue to be confronted, and where guns were also the most popular fetishistic object. One might have reservations about the overly fleeting indication of motivations, but the minimum amount of information about who and what so badly messed Dwight up contributes to disturbing doubts about whether his actions are justified. The film does not provide an answer. It just thoroughly unsettles us and leaves us to somehow come to terms with all of the conflicting ideas in our own heads. For me, this is a clear sign of a high-quality thriller. I’m looking forward to Green Room. 80% (03.07.2016)

Objectively, I have almost nothing to reproach this indie revenge thriller, it’s a solid movie with fantastic cinematography and a captivating melancholic atmosphere. But it was too slow for me, which says something, because in general I have nothing against slow films. The Battery without charm. (26.04.2014)

2014 is heavily packed with revenge films and I fear Blue Ruin will come out as the weakest link. Revenge is my favorite subgenre in general, but this one very much didn't work. Very slow. A quiet, not terribly interesting and annoying film with an unlikeable main character and three decent gore scenes, that's all the film has to offer. It's a shame, if it had a faster pace, some more frenzy, action, intensity and rawness and I could be cheering with joy at the moment. I hope Cold in July turns out better.50% (02.05.2014)

I guess I'm allergic to these slow movies. Lately, there have been quite a few of them, as if independent production has found its own mainstream. Violence, but no traditional gangs, everything very realistic, with occasional bloodshed, naturalism, but not over the top, yet still gritty and visually repulsive. All this at a more than leisurely pace. It all just seems the same to me, and these types of movies don't do anything for me. (23.06.2014)