Top 20 Alternative Picks for Cannes 2013: Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin – Jeremy Saulnier

Section: Directors’ Fortnight

Buzz: Jeremy Saulnier, cinematographer for Matthew Porterfield’s Putty Hill and I Used to Be Darker, unveils his sophomore directorial effort in the Directors’ Fortnight. A thriller that headlines, intriguingly, Eve Plumb, Saulnier is one several highly anticipated US independent films in this section. However, Saulnier’s project could have an edge over his US competitors, whose films premiered in Sundance last January. Saulnier raised funds via a kickstarter campaign, and this supposedly subversive take on the American revenge flick was picked up recently by reputable international sales outfitter Memento Films.

The Gist: Blue Ruin revolves around a mysterious beach bum whose life is upended after he receives some dreadful news. He returns to his childhood home to commit an act of revenge. He is an inept killer, however, and finds himself instead caught up in a battle to protect his estranged family.