Blue Ruin, one of the most lauded (and rightfully so) films of 2014, has enjoyed the kind of success that most indie filmmakers just dream of, but its path to getting made was not an easy one.  After their 2007 Slamdance hit, Murder Party, filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier and actor Macon Blair, friends from childhood, began to look for the capital to make a sophomore feature.  They could not have known that this endeavor would take more than half a decade, drain their savings and require a last-ditch Kickstarter campaign. (WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW) The result of their labor is Blue Ruin, a gripping revenge drama about a traumatized man who hunts down his parents’ murderer who has just been released from prison.

While Blair has a few indie acting credits to his name (including several with Saulnier), he has largely been unknown to mainstream audiences. That has changed with his riveting performance as Dwight, a broken man living as an isolated vagrant when he hears that the man responsible for his parents’ deaths is getting released from prison.  Blair’s wide-eyed protagonist, with his bushy beard and dirt-stained clothes, appears to be an unlikely hero.

Viewers' amazement at Dwight's boldness is shared by the character himself—a fact effectively conveyed by Blair's subtle performance.

When he is first introduced to the audience, Dwight is sitting wearily in a bathtub. The feel of the scene changes sharply when the audience realizes that he has broken into a stranger’s home to bath.  Viewers’ amazement at Dwight’s boldness is shared by the character himself—a fact effectively conveyed by Blair’s subtle performance. And this trope continues throughout the film, with Dwight always being as surprised by his actions as the audience. The beauty of Blue Ruin made possible by Blair’s deeply layered performance is that the past is never told outright to the audience, but instead peeled away gradually through well-timed reveals.

Blair’s Dwight has the difficult task of serving both as the polarizing moral center of the film and also as an Everyman. Blair carries off this difficult balancing act with aplomb, giving a natural performance that makes it is easy for audience members to see themselves in Dwight. Blair lets his expressive brown eyes serve as windows to Dwight’s inner turmoil and insecurities. Though he is clumsy and uncomfortable with his mission of vengeance, Blair’s Dwight has come alive again—if only to become a hapless harbinger of death.

When Dwight manages to kill his target with a rudimentary knife in a dirty bathroom in his family bar, Blair conveys the character’s panic and horror through his extreme physical performance. Dwight’s whole body tenses and his breath comes in painful heaves as he realizes that he is no longer an innocent party and that he has reignited a blood feud that will end in a  devastating and deadly way.

Out of the many standout scenes in Blue Ruin, Blair’s performance may shine brightest during an encounter between Dwight and his estranged sister, Sam (an equally fantastic Amy Hargreaves), as they share breakfast for the first time in years. Blair channels Dwight’s shyness and unease as he sits with his sister. Dwight speaks slowly and deliberately, struggling to find words to reveal that he has killed their parents’ murderer. During the confession, Blair’s Dwight looks away to muster up the strength to confess, tears spilling onto his cheeks. It’s a poignant moment—expertly executed by Blair and Hargreaves—that effectively communicates the grief that the characters still experience and the danger that threatens them both. 

As Dwight, Blair gives a slow burn of a performance that serves as the focal point for this extraordinary film. Our appreciation for his craft only grows and deepens upon a second and even third viewing. Together, Blair and filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier have created an anti-hero as riveting as Major Charles Rane in Rolling Thunder or Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. We can’t wait for what their next collaboration (Green Room in 2015) will bring.