Blue Ruin (2013)

Blue Ruin (R)

"Fear the Beard "

A young homeless man hears his parent's killer is being released from prison after years of incarceration and immediately sets out to avenge them.  After sudden, violent confrontation brings him and his kin into a bullet ridden feud with the other family, the man finds himself embroiled with not just family politics but the skeletons in their closets too in this super independant and anti-Hollywood thriller made with much polish and less budget than your average footwear commercial.

Featuring a cast and crews of unknowns, shot and produced on their own shoestrings by a group of go-getters, funded by the internet savy on Kickstarter (using a colorful pitch showing the bearded vagrant with a shotgun walking around a carnival), Blue Ruin maybe the future of crowd-sourced entertainment over the studios or just a rare example of perseverance and hard work, talent (and luck) paying off, but in either case Blue Ruin does it more professionally than most high end production.  The director has an eye for visuals, his young star (and best friend) has a nice case of believability, and even with some amateurishness seeping into the edges of the frame with some iffy acting and physical effects,  it upholds its side of the bargain with an unusual story married to strong cinematography.  A unique spin on the old story of the Hatfields and the McCoys but this time with automatic weapons, Blue Ruin may be a small movie in scope but could spell big changes later on for the film indistury, if only for it's cast and crew's futures.

6.5 Fear The Beards out of 10 (GOOD)