“Blue Ruin’s” Jeremy Saulnier on Directing: “Stay True To Yourself”

Don’t let the ominous photo fool you, since “Blue Ruin’s” true horror lies in the tragedy that’s scarred drifter Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) for life. A loner to the end, Dwight’s sole mission is to seek vengeance on the man responsible for murdering his parents. Brooklyn based filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier’s feature is a compelling hybrid of art house and genre driven movies, and coupled with Blair’s harrowing (and occasionally humorous) performance as Evans, “Blue Ruin” is a cinematic home run.

“Blue Ruin” has spent the past year garnering its share of acclaim on the festival circuits, with Saulnier receiving the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The praise is definitely understood, as the picture takes the revenge drama genre into an entirely different (and inspired) level.

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I interviewed Blair and Saulnier today, and more posts on “Blue Ruin” are in the offing on Deepest Dream (for an insightful look on Saulnier’s background, check out this IndieWire piece).

Here’s a quick clip of the director offering up solid filmmaking advice.

“The lessons are, stay true to yourself, and patience is just as important as being aggressive,” said Saulnier, who also penned the screenplay and was the film’s cinematographer.

Check out the video below:

“Blue Ruin” opens in select theaters and on demand April 25. The trailer, which does a great job of capturing the film’s somber and compelling tone, is seen below: