Blow the Man Down

Definitely reminded me of Fargo, sinister underlying unease and moody cinematography but the best for me was the acting. Even the hooker was exceptional. The intermediate singing, although haunting and an integral part of the movie, got on my nerves a bit though. Perhaps used it in the wrong way.

Stylistically, this is my kinda movie. A remote New England town, murder mystery, female protagonist... The trailer with Margo Martindale telling the girls to "drink" raised a smile with me however I did get the sense that this "Dark Comedy" had a real Netflix vibe - judging from the trailer. Anyhow, I watched it tonight. And it was worse than I expected. Honestly, you'd get a deeper plot and more intriguing characters watching Forensic Files. I think it took about an hour before I said, "Ok, something's happening now". This feels a lot like a student film your friend made that you want to like and are tortured for 1 & 1/2 hours sitting through. It's hampered by a lackluster story-line, a horrible screenplay and unattractive people. What antagonizes this is the desperate attempt at fixing the nowhere-ness at it's core with beautiful scenery, cinematography, a great soundtrack reminiscent of a good British Mystery and some momentary try-hardy Cohen Bros -esque stylings which normally I crave, but here it feels phony, and almost like an insult as opposed to homage. There was a point half way through where i said, "they need to bring in those singing Fishermen again to fix that last scene" and lo and behold - cue the the singing fishermen! lol the director knew it was dying too. The singing Fisherman are a perfect example of why it was irritating. Antagonistic, because while singing Fishermen are creepy and vibey.. they are not enough to distract us from the movie we are watching. Frankly this movie isn't good enough to deserve singing Fishermen. I've seen The Wickerman, and you sir, are no Wickerman. I think someone had the right idea, the right elements, the right setting, a great dp / cinematographer, art direction (great wallpaper!), great soundtrack, although again, this movie isn't clever enough to warrant that "British Mystery Soundtrack". The ball was dropped with the screenplay, direction and casting. Margo Martindale is a definite standout along with Will Brittain. Otherwise the cast was ho-hum. In general there may not have been enough story to grab onto in the first place to get this on par with the sources it is derivative of , but it was packaged nicely.. About this Netflix-y vibe..I'm not a fan of the current trend, nor find humourous having old people say trendy 'hip' things.. it's so cheeky. I get the sense that the screenwriter is young. It puts this into a cheap category as opposed to a classic. You can do a darkly humorous suspenseful mystery without the sit-com flavored dialogue. - see Knives Out.

Small town crime neo-noir strikes again, this time in a way that feels fresher. A lot of people are praising "Blow the Man Down" for invoking a "Fargo" feel which I agree it does, the spirit is there, in the form of the story and what's happening to characters, ordinary and mysterious alike. Led by a strong mostly female cast, "Blow the Man Down" is an engaging ride into the neat world of a small coastal town and the unravelment of its shadier side. Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) and Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) Connolys are dealing with the death and funeral of their mother and the next couple days will be a storm distress not only for them but for the whole town. A murder happens, and the rest is up to You to see. Did I mention that the town is run by a bunch of old women? There's enough fun to be had with the secrets and antics of this small port town, script provides until the very end. Directors and writers Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy are walking a fine line of using familiar genre tropes and tweaking them just enough to allow some necessary freshness while never doing an overkill at it. The structure's not flawless and pacing suffers at moments, but not at a big cost. The two young leads, together with a veteran supporting cast does a great job in the acting department, with the highlight performances being brought on by Sophie Lowe and Margo Martindale in the more villainous role. If the story and characters aren't enough yet, there's also decent cinematography - the indie, low-budget kind, but one that colors the chilly atmosphere, which is further filled with mood setting creative solutions in the music department. I say blow him down, I'm excited to see what these filmmakers bring on next, and always down for just about anything that fits the bill of a small town crime / neo-noir / americana / rural shenanigans themes in the crime genre. "Blow the Man Down" should please the like-minded. My rating: 7/10.