Amy Hargreaves

Dark and freaky, this brutal, low-key revenge thriller throws a bunch of relatively simple people into a moral quagmire, and drags us in as well. It's a remarkably effective exploration of how deep emotions can lead people into the most hopeless situations imaginable. And it features terrific acting from a largely unknown cast, as well as remarkably sure-handed work from filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier.

The title refers to the bullet-riddled rusty blue Pontiac Dwight (Macon Blair) has been living in since his parents were murdered. So when he hears that the killer Wade has been released from prison, he stalks him waiting for a chance to pounce. But killing a man is harder than he thought, and he doesn't feel much better afterwards. Also, Wade's family never calls the cops, so Dwight knows they're coming for him now. He runs to his sister (Amy Hargreaves) and warns her. And as things get increasingly messy, he turns to his gun-loving friend Ben (Devin Ratray) for help.

With his scraggly beard and exhausted eyes, Blair gives the film a terrific sense of inevitability: Dwight doesn't want to do any of this, but feels that he has to. As he begins to pull himself together, the sense of purpose seems to wake him up. And watching this adds currents of unexpected emotion in every scene, especially as the script reveals the original events that sparked all of this bitterness. It also makes what happens almost unbearably tense, especially since writer-director Saulnier depicts the violence as desperate and realistic.

Continue reading: Blue Ruin Review

Brandon (Fassbender) is a successful New Yorker who's happier to see a series of random women than to settle down into a relationship. Although he doesn't stop there, indulging also in porn and prostitutes. So when his wayward sister Sissy (Mulligan) shows up needing a place to stay, it kind of puts a crimp in his style. Especially when she hooks up with his married boss (Dale). Soon he begins to doubt himself, feeling a surge of guilt and shame over his private demons. But getting rid of his urges is another matter.

Continue reading: Shame Review