Blue Ruin
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Year Released: 2013
Rating: 2.5
Re-envisioned Hatfield/McCoy scenario posits Dwight (Macon Blair), bearded and living out of his car (and looking like Father John Misty at his most disheveled), revisiting an old feud between his parents and another family, ending up in bloodshed when he invades their compound. Clever little indie is light in the context department, but does offer a valuable --- though obvious - lesson in how seeking revenge one should be prepared to dig a grave for oneself as well. Saulnier's past work as a cinematographer (for Matthew Porterfield, among others) gives him a strong edge in the visual department, and though Blair's character seems stifled emotionally, the tension in the scenario makes for an exciting, well-paced narrative.
