Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier throws us into the unkempt life of a man named Dwight (Macon Blair) at the outset of Blue Ruin. Our first look at Dwight is of his naked body, escaping from a window in a house he’s just broken into just so he could take a bath. Who this guy is, why he’s in this predicament and why he’s sleeping in his car and looks as if he hasn’t shaved in years is unclear.
Over the course of the next 90 minutes Saulnier slowly peels away the layers, resulting in a taut revenge thriller that’s patient enough not to throw everything at us at once, but when the shit hits the fan you’d better be ready.
Asleep in the backseat of his rusted, blue Pontiac, Dwight’s slumber is disturbed by a local police officer and we immediately assume he’s in trouble for parking his car on the side of the road and catching a few Zs. Not so. “Can you come with me?” the officer asks.
Clearly familiar with Dwight and whatever his predicament may be, she takes him to the police station, sits him down and slides a bit of newspaper toward him. “He’s being released.” We catch only a glimpse of the headline and depending on how quickly you register the words you may be a few steps ahead of audience members that missed the quick flash of just who exactly is being released.
A range of emotions burst onto Dwight’s face, the first glimmer of anything actor Macon Blair registers, but is it fear, anger or his own confusion over what comes next? Considering the audience is kept largely in the dark we’re not entirely sure what he’s thinking and our interest grows, especially once he goes looking for a gun.
Suffice to say, and with no interest in spoiling what comes next, Blue Ruin has the feel of a Coen brothers movie. The violence is blunt, graphic and, at times, without warning, leaving a scar on the victim and the audience as Saulnier’s determination to never rush things pays off in big ways. At the same time, a dash of dark comedy can turn a line such as “What about the rest of his… face?” into something both mildly humorous while simultaneously recognizing a gruesome truth.
Blair is the driving force behind the film and as his motivations come clear, Blue Ruin draws curious moral lines. We’re never entirely on Dwight’s side and if you are, Saulnier doesn’t give you much time to feel comfortable with your decision. Dwight’s cause, at first, may seem just, but when it comes to the task he’s chosen to carry out it’s hard to say there is ever a definitive right or wrong side of the coin.
Where I haven’t quite made up my mind is in relation to the film’s ending. I like the gall Saulnier shows in ending things as abruptly as he began them, but I couldn’t help but feel something had been left unsaid. Violence begat violence and destinies seem to have been realized, and perhaps my feeling of emptiness comes as a result of this being yet another film that paints a grim future for humanity, a humanity that resorts to violence at every turn. You could argue there’s a small glimmer of hope at the end of the film, but it’s a faint glimmer if there is one at all.
Dwight is quiet, he’s made the decision his life is of little value compared to the task he’s chosen for himself. But once he’s confronted with moral vagaries his only intention seems to be to take things further. We as, an audience, judge Dwight and his decision as well as we judge those that fall under his gavel. I get the impression Saulnier makes his statement with the final fall of a shotgun, but at the same time I can’t seem to determine if this film is meant, in any way, to be a message movie.
That said, the last thing I would have wanted was a 5-10 minute coda, summing everything up. There’s no need for that and thankfully Saulnier agrees.
Of course, a film doesn’t need to spell everything out for us, the mere fact Blue Ruin left me asking questions is a testament to its filmmaking. It’s a well-performed and extraordinarily well shot film I have no problem recommending. This won’t be the last we hear of Saulnier, and while this isn’t his first film, after what appears to be a couple shorts and 2007’s slasher feature Murder Party, Blue Ruin shows what he can offer and his confidence in his work and patience in storytelling is a sign of great things to come.
