Most people probably know Macon Blair from starring in the Jeremy Saulnier flicks Blue Ruin (Review HERE) and Green Room (Review HERE). He was great in both, and it seems like he and Saulnier have a special chemistry going that we hope carries on into more films.
But did you know that he's also a writer? Well he is, and now he's a director too, as I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore marks his first turn behind the camera. I have to say that even though some of its quirkier bits irked the hell out of me (courtesy of Melanie Lynskey's character, mainly), it's a pretty damn good debut.
MACON. |
DIG THAT SAXON SHIRT. |
JANE, YOU NAUGHTY GIRL. |
That said, this movie picks it up in the third act in a big way, offering a finale sequence that stands with some of Tarntino's bloodiest bits, and it definitely felt like a great payoff. Which again is a problem of sorts, because the movie switches between goofball charming and darkly intense too much, and ends up feeling like two movies playing side by side. But it worked for the most part, creating something... different.
Elijah Wood has been a great actor for years, and this movie shows us why. His character is an oddball who loves karate and oozes way too much machismo for his small frame, and we absolutely loved him. His partner in crime, Melanie Lynskey, is an excellent actress in her own right, but her character in this one irked us, as her whole "awkward and mousy" act wore thin on us for some reason. That's a personal thing I guess, because she nailed her role perfectly.
The best part of this movie, aside from the awesome scene at the end, was the presence of Jane Levy. We love the hell out of that girl, and she ends up pulling off one hell of a performance in this one, even though her character doesn't speak a lot. Masked Jane Levy is still somehow sexy. and unsettling.
THAT SAXON SHIRT IS KILLING US THOUGH! |
THAT DOG HAS SEEN SOME SHIT. |
EVEN IN A MASK, JANE LEVY IS SEX ON WHEELS. |
Macon Blair and Jeremy Saulnier are teaming up again for Hold the Dark -which it stars Alexander Skarsgard as a wolf hunter who tracks down a young child in the Alaskan wilderness- and as big fans of both of their work, we can't wait to see where they take the genre next.
Until then, check out this one and enjoy the quirkiness.
B-
I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is streaming now on Netflix.
We want to live in Jane Levy's world.