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‘Blue Ruin’ rules

January 3, 2015 by Dave Knadler

blue ruin movie review

A little lemon juice will take that right out.

Just when you conclude that the Netflix movie catalog really is a steaming pile of two-star manure, you stumble across a gem. That’s what I discovered tonight in “Blue Ruin,” a taut, lean revenge thriller that defies everything you might expect from this sort of film.

Free on Netflix.

Free on Netflix.

For starters, it stars nobody you’ve ever heard of, and the protagonist is about as far from Liam Neeson as you can get. The character, Dwight Evans, is harmless and homeless and haunted by the death of his parents years before. He lives in his old Pontiac by the beach and Dumpster-dives for his meals. Then he gets word from a kindly policewoman that the guy convicted of killing Dwight’s parents is about to be released from prison.

I’ll stop there, except to note that Dwight has zero skills as an assassin. In large part, that’s what drives the suspense: Unlike Charles Bronson, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He never has quite the right weapon for the situation. Things get messy, and then messier, and finally completely out of control. Through all of it, he retains a certain decency that only deepens his disadvantage.

It’s a violent movie, so there’s that. But even if that kind of thing bothers you, it’s worth sitting through just to see Eve Plumb in a small role that should banish forever any fond recollections about Jan Brady. Dave Bob calls it the best movie he’s seen this year! Seriously, check it out.

More along these lines:

  • orange cat inside llewyn davisOn the road with ‘Llewyn Davis’
  • ‘Dr. Zhivago,’ and a perfect special effect
  • Money for nothing at Mauthausen
  • Hancock, we hardly knew yeHancock, we hardly knew ye
  • Ray Milland, please report to security

Filed Under: Movies, netflix

About Dave Knadler

Obscure writer. Lazy photographer. Bashful guitarist. Perhaps too fond of wine. Tireless nemesis of New York Times crosswords.

Comments

  1. Erin says

    January 4, 2015 at 12:40 am

    Heading off to watch. 🙂

    • Dave Knadler says

      January 4, 2015 at 8:27 am

      Let me know what you think!

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