Impressive indie with some nice twists and turns ala Coen Brothers or John Dahl mysteries. Love the performances of Sophie Lowe, Marceline Hugot and Gayle Rankin.

Can't wait to see what co-directors Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole do next.

Watched on Amazon Prime

This is my mom's favorite genre; a murder, a small town with a seedy underbelly, a death in the family, sisters, a secret, a couple cops investigating, a cold northern setting...

It can be seen as a movie with sea shanty interludes, or a much expanded sea shanty music video, as I prefer to see it. It is quite an engaging and small story, with characters I was quite impressed by.

Margot Martindale operates on another level. She's got a meaty role in this that she elevates with the energy she brings to this film.

I'm looking forward to seeing what this team of directors brings us next. Thank you for the rec Claira!!

Blow the Man Down is a film I feel that I've seen a thousand times before. However, due to ingenious casting (June Squibb, Margo Martindale, Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor), it feels fresh.

It also garnered a Spirit Awards nomination for Best First Screenplay. All in all, it's worth checking out.

Vegan alert:
-Set in a fishing town
-Reference to people smelling like fish
-Fish frying in a pan
-Reference to milk

Triumphing over the Coen Brothers comparisons as well as audaciously spreading its small budget as far as conceivably possible, Blow the Man Down is a broodingly humorous fable about the strength and solidarity of women that's constructed with terrific use of locations to satisfy its film noir influences. And while there's no apparent desire to break any new ground, the cinematography of Todd Banhazi holds a certain level of visual flair; where even the most mundane of places has a somewhat threatening atmosphere.

The screenplay is adequately substantial in rendering its characters with a unique layered quality, and they are admirably brought to life by the cast with Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe being especially impressive as the Connolly sisters. The musical score by Jordan Dykstra and Brian McOmber also contribute significantly to the films comprehensive persuasiveness, and the decisive advancement of arming it with a genuine feminine perspective elevates its tense qualities in communicating a spellbinding chain of events.

MARGO MARTINDALE

A very stylish and confident debut. And a ton of fun. Great sense of place. Great attention to character and performance. Also offers a clever critique of the comforts we take for granted and the sacrifices that were made to acquire them.

My only complaint is that it plays more like gangbusters tv pilot than a movie—only there's no more show. I guess I'll just have to look forward to whatever writer/directors Cole and Krudy come up with next. It can't come too soon.

And if you don't know, now you now: Margot Martindale is a national treasure.

this is one of those 4 star movies where you're like "damn, that was a 5 star movie"

This film is a celebration of bad bitches and I cannot get enough of it.

The whole movie is haunting and breathtaking in its shot selection and color pallette of death. Almost everything about it makes me happy, and although there are some major logic lapses in the film that detract, there's far too much good going on!

I feel very lukewarm to this film. On one hand I really liked the score and the feeling that the town we're in is keeping secrets from us. On the other hand, the story wasn't very captivating and it felt like there were some parts missing as there were some undeveloped plotlines (though this may be intentional to add to the mystery). This felt like a mixture of Hot Fuzz and Fargo, so I really should love this, but I just thought it was okay.

🎶🎵 Way! Hey! Blow the man down! 🎵🎶

I think between this and The Lighthouse sea shanty cinema is at its peak. And who doesn’t love renowned character actress Margo Martindale!

The plot may be formulaic but the evocative setting and pitch perfect casting make for an entertaining 90 minutes. With sea shanties, the strangest door knockers I’ve ever seen, and plenty of fish, Blow the Man Down really captures the small Maine town. The casting of June Squib, Marceline Hugot, Annette O’Toole, and Margo Martindale as the town gossips made we want to get right in there with them, glass of wine in hand. 

We’ve seen similar crime stories told better before by the Coen Brothers, but this film had enough twists in its connected threads to keep me interested. 

{#435 on Favorites list} {#7 on Best Movies of 2020}

Viewed for NPR. Review to come. In brief: A solid femme Fargo buoyed by its evocation of a Maine seaport with a sordid past. Goes straight to Amazon Prime this Friday. 90 minutes of quality quarantine time.

They had me at the first sea shanty

p.s. margo martindale was in front of us and she also loved it