Delayed Reaction: Blue Ruin

The Pitch: A man gets bloody revenge then realizes that he's not very good at it.

I became aware of this film when it was recommended on the Filmspotting podcast, although, by the time I actually watched it, I forgot everything they said about it. In other words, I went into this blank. In fact, for some reason, I thought it was a foreign film and kept waiting for subtitles to kick in. 

This is a very lean movie. It's 90 minutes. It gets right to the point. Nothing is over explained. It even builds a decent sized world. I don't think I cared enough about the protagonist though*. The violence is brutal and intimate enough that it bothered me more than it has in other movie. Like, the part that bothered me the most is when the main guy accidentally cuts his hand puncturing the car tire. That's weird. I'm not fazed by a guy losing his head in HacksawRidge, but a guy cutting his palm with a Swiss Army knife I can't shake.

The film looks great, especially considering the limited budget and the direction is very solid. It's not for everyone, but if you want a more intimate Death Wish or Dirty Harry, this is a good option.

*Also, I can't blame the movie for this, but I kept thinking the guy looked a lot like Joe Lo Truglio, which distracted me.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend