Blue Ruin (2014)
88%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 20 nominations
Smart, stripped-down, and thrillingly grim, Blue Ruin proves that a well-told revenge story can still leave its audience on the edge of their seat
Blue Ruin is the perfect movie for anyone who loves a good revenge story, but also wants to feel like they’re watching something that’s a little bit different. The cinematography is stunning, and the close-ups really add to the sense of paranoia that the movie creates. Plus, Macon Blair’s performance is absolutely mesmerizing – you can really see the character struggling with himself. All in all, it’s a great movie that’s definitely worth checking out.
Production Company(ies)
Why Not Productions, Chic Films, Page 114
Distributor
Radius TWC
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Virginia, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 25, 2014 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 22, 2014
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & Thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve Plumb, David W Thompson, directed by Jeremy Saulnier, written by Jeremy Saulnier, Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, $258.1K box office, R MPAA rating, reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Keith Staskiewicz, Kate Muir, Jonathan Romney, Wesley Morris, Soren Andersen, Michael J Casey, Kip Mooney, Mike Massie, Katie Smith-Wong, David Harris, Cindy Davis, revenge, small-scale production, emotionally attached, stripped-down, indie feel, washed out, pale pallet, intricate score, blood, tragedy, authentic, realistic, visually gorgeous, foreboding
Worldwide gross: $993,313
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,241,390
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,548
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 135,375
US/Canada gross: $258,384
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $322,915
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,436
US/Canada opening weekend: $32,608
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $40,752
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,268
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $420,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $524,894
Production budget ranking: 2,112
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $282,655
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $433,841
ROI to date (est.): 54%
ROI ranking: 1,127
Devin Ratray – Ben Gaffney
Amy Hargreaves – Sam
Kevin Kolack – Teddy Cleland
Eve Plumb – Kris Cleland
David W. Thompson – William
Director(s)
Jeremy Saulnier
Writer(s)
Jeremy Saulnier
Producer(s)
Anish Savjani, Richard Peete, Vincent Savino
Film Festivals
Sundance, Cannes, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 20 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (144) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (138) | Rotten (6)
The world doesn’t need another empty genre exercise. But as Blue Ruin reminds us, it can always use more filmmakers of Saulnier’s resourcefulness, sensitivity and quiet assurance.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
With the same brand of realist irony the Coens used to cool down Blood Simple, writer-director Jeremy Saulnier slows the genre’s heartbeat to gripping effect.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: A
Keith Staskiewicz
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Blue Ruin starts promisingly with a hairy hobo living in a blue, rusty, bullet-holed Pontiac on a Delaware beach.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
[A]n atmospheric, elegant piece, a more delicate, intriguingly nervous piece of pulp noir.
July 1, 2014
Jonathan Romney
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Saulnier is also a cinematographer, and he’s in complete control of the film’s conflation of human-scale horror and tragicomedy.
May 8, 2014
Wesley Morris
Grantland
TOP CRITIC
Blair, an unheralded actor, carries the whole picture. He’s in practically every scene, and his performance is fascinating because in his eyes you can see the character struggling desperately with himself.
May 8, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Soren Andersen
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Creates a level of paranoia by telling this tale primarily in close-ups and toying with focal depth.
November 13, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
A visceral film about the nasty business of revenge.
September 9, 2021 | Rating: A-
Kip Mooney
College Movie Review
Unexpected events occur with intensity and force, blood is spilled but never glamorized, and the most unlikely of heroes transforms into a formidable opponent.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Blue Ruin is not a truly organic story in terms of originality, but its brutal take on revenge and [Macon] Blair’s mesmerising performance makes it one of the year’s best films that no-one will have heard of.
November 26, 2019 | Rating: 4.5/5
Katie Smith-Wong
Musings of Guitargalchina
For all its chilling realism, Blue Ruin collapses as it tries to fight against the inevitability of its genre and its inability to rise above that predestined path.
November 22, 2019 | Rating: 3.2/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
Rather than give away its sparse elements, I’d rather tell you it’s beautifully paced, and filled with foreboding; Blue Ruin is a testament to the effectiveness of great acting and direction.
October 24, 2019
Cindy Davis
Pajiba…
Plot
Dwight Evans’ lives his life as a beach vagrant. He has no contact with his sister, and his parents were murdered ten years prior. When he gets word that his parents’ killer, Wade Cleland, is set to be released from prison, Dwight decides that he has nothing left to lose and sets out on a quest to avenge his parents’ deaths. Dwight succeeds in killing Wade, but complications emerge when his botched getaway allows the Cleland family the opportunity to vow revenge.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Macon Blair as the drifter seeking revenge for his parents’ deaths.
Jeremy-Saulnier.jpg
