Blow your mind
A fabulous Fargo-esque comedy
Blow the Man Down (16+, 91 mins) Directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★1⁄2
It might open with another group of harmonising seaman, but Fishermen’s Friends this ain’t. Instead of a heartwarming Cornish dramedy, Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy’s feature debut is a pitch black comedy set on America’s northeast coast. This is Waking Ned Devine , or Whisky Galore, if reimagined by the Coen brothers.
Easter Cove, Maine, boasts a large fishing industry and is home to the Connolly sisters Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) and Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor).
Still reeling from their mother’s death, the pair’s fractious relationship is further strained when Priscilla reveals that they’re about to lose their house.
Seeking to drown her sorrows, Mary Beth heads to the local bar where she flirts with the mysterious Gorski (Ebon MossBachrach).
However, it’s while driving to his place that she begins to get a bad feeling about him.
After crashing into the town sign, she’s sure she spies blood in his boot. Running for her life, Mary Beth only ends Gorski’s pursuit by making use of materials she finds around the dock.
‘‘I lost control of the brick,’’ she tearfully confesses to her sister. ‘‘So that was after you’d harpooned him?’’ Priscilla inquires.
Deciding against informing the police, the pair take matters into their own hands, something that becomes rather more complicated when they discover the body won’t easily fit in one of their fishing store’s chilly bins.
And, after inadvertently leaving one of their monogrammed knives behind, Mary Beth returns to the crime scene, only to uncover a paper bag full of cash. Her decision to keep it sets in train a series of events that threaten to lay bare more than a generation’s worth of the town’s secrets.
Filled with memorable characters, a fabulous virtually allfemale cast (that includes veterans such as Margo Martindale, June Squibb and Annette O’Toole) and a quirky, atmospheric soundtrack, Cole and Krudy’s tale is well worth seeking out.
With its secrets and lies, snowbound location and dogged police officers, it’s not surprising Blow the Man Down has drawn comparisons to the likes of Fargo.
Yes, there is that trademark Coen streak of dark humour (a tense negotiation is leavened by one of the protagonists falling asleep in the middle of it), but the writing-directing duo also possess their own signature flourishes, including fabulous use of point-ofview shots.
Their story all comes to the boil nicely, before delivering a killer ending. If you love a good crime comedy, then Blow will bowl you over.
Blow the Man Down is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.