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Movie Review: Blame

Blame (2010)

Director: Michael Henry

I had the good fortune to see the first international screening of Blame at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.

Blame is a movie about vigilante justice, revenge and the perfect murder gone terribly wrong. The film opens with a bang. A man comes home to his isolated house and is set upon by 5 masked intruders who, after a brief chase, tie him to a chair and force him to swallow a bottle of sleeping pills. The scene is well-shot, dramatic, and captured my interest right away. Of course, this seemingly perfect murder doesn't go as planned and the perpetrators have to scramble against both their intended victim and each other as events spin out of control.

Blame is a thriller is the best sense of the word. The tension created in the first scene never abates. From the beginning where it is unclear exactly what is going on, to the time the characters motivations begin to unravel and the truth is revealed, I was kept on the edge of my seat anticipating and even dreading what would happen next.

Blame is very minimalist. The majority of the film takes place in a single location and the cast consists of only a handful of actors. It is beautifully shot. While the plot and motivations of the characters are dark, the film takes place on a sunny afternoon in the gorgeous Western Australian foothills. The gritty, shadowy environment of run-of-the-mill thrillers is absent and the contrast is striking. The score is also quite effective, sullen piano notes provide a haunting backdrop to the events of the film.

The acting was very well done. The female leads in particular were good and got to portray a wider range than their male counterparts.

The one negative is that the plot falters a little in the second half. While the audience has figured out the truth about everyone's motivations the characters themselves take much longer to come to this realization. It made the characters seem rather oblivious. Perhaps this was the point, but I found it frustrating. Fortunately, the story finds its footing again in time for the dramatic and startling conclusion.

I thought Blame was a tremendous first feature film by writer/director Michael Henry and I hope to see more from him in the future.

Rating:

Blame is currently screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be screening at the Chicago International Film Festival in October.