Blue Ruin 🚙
Happy Thursday! Thank you for spending some time here today.
Today’s recommendation is for Blue Ruin (2017), streaming on Netflix. This revenge thriller was funded with director Jeremy Saulnier’s wife’s retirement fund, his Amex card, and a hail mary Kickstarter campaign that makes the fact that it premiered at Cannes all the more impressive.
Here’s what it’s about: After finding out the man that killed his parents 20 years ago was released from prison, Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) sets out to get revenge. But he proves to be an inept assassin and finds himself on the run. [Trailer // 90 mins]
Why you should watch it: There's an elegant efficiency in the suspense and violence in Blue Ruin. Jeremy Saulnier’s directorial style, which systematically increases the tension throughout the film, is surprisingly assured for just a sophomore feature.
With Macon Blair’s surprisingly entrancing turn, it’s easy to find yourself lost in the story. Blue Ruin will feel familiar to genre enthusiasts. Yet with Saulnier's singular hypnotic style, it'll also feel entirely new.
🍷 Pair it with:
You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay)
The Invitation (dir. Karyn Kusama)
📺 Buy or Rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
In movie news
Is this another Macbeth which I see before me?
While much of Hollywood has come to a screeching halt, that isn’t stopping creatives from being… well, creative. For the first time, Oscar-winner Joel Coen is tackling a solo project — every other film he has made with his brother Ethan as the Coen Brothers. The film, in development, is called The Tragedy of Macbeth and is backed by A24.
Details:
Oscar-winners Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington will star as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This will be McDormand and Coen’s ninth collaboration — they’ve been married since 1984.
McDormand and Coen said that having two actors in their 60s take over the famed roles adds a sense of urgency to the story, even describing it as a “ticking-clock thriller.”
Composer Carter Burwell will score the movie. He’s scored every Coen Brothers movie except for two. His best score for the Coen Brothers is Fargo, but his score for Carol is an all-timer.
No release date has been announced.
My take: Coen is a huge get for A24, which has historically focused on young up and coming filmmakers. Depending on when it’s released, it’s bound to be an Oscar contender.
Stay safe this weekend. Do something to break your routine (indoors, please)!
See you Monday —
Karl (@karl_delo)