Movie Review - Blow the Man Down

The title refers to a song that is sung at the beginning and throughout this film. The song is a sea shanty from the mid 19th century. This film, written and directed by Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole, very much takes place in the present. It's not without its history. The film is set in Maine where it was actually shot and it feels like it was made by someone who has history in that New England area. Krudy is reportedly from the Midwest, specifically Ohio, but Cole is reportedly from Massachusetts, so one half of them does have that history or experience. It might not be totally accurate, but Krudy and Cole bring such authenticity to this film. It has nothing to do with the snowy landscape and cold time of the year depicted, but Krudy and Cole provide a very chilling atmosphere that definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat, despite not having that much thrills or violence. There is excellent and tense drama that is quiet but quite tense.

Margo Martindale (The Americans and Justified) stars as Enid Nora Devlin, a woman who runs a bed-and-breakfast in a fishing port called Easter Cove. Technically, she's not the protagonist of this film, but she should get top billing because her character is the reason this film is as interesting and compelling as it is. Enid's bed-and-breakfast is actually a brothel, one with which the local cops don't interfere. She's clearly involved with other criminal elements that makes her like a mini-mafia head of this town. She's a woman with a cane. Despite the way she dresses and carries herself, she could seem like a sweet, middle-age lady, but the way she moves and exists is very much that of a kingpin or queen-pin.

Every time Enid is in a scene, this film is amazing. Every time she's not, the film is fine. That tense drama is maintained well enough, but the film doesn't soar as much as when Enid is giving her incredible presence, especially opposite three other women in this film, played by June Squibb, Annette O'Toole and Marceline Hugot. Amazingly, the film builds a bit of a murder mystery in which Enid is a suspect. Strangely though, I don't think the film is clear about solving that mystery. It seems like there's a heavy implication about who the murderer is, but there's never anything definitive, given that the police officer named Justin Brennan, played by Will Brittain (Everybody Wants Some!! and A Teacher), is a significant character.

Sophie Lowe (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and The Slap) also stars as Priscilla Connolly, a young woman who runs a fish store in Easter Cove. She lived with her mother who dies at the opening of this film. Her mother left her nothing in terms of inheritance. Yet, Priscilla has a lot to afford, including funeral bills and a mortgage for a house she might lose. Apparently, her mother was sick and Priscilla had to care for her mother until the bitter end.

Morgan Saylor (McFarland, USA and Homeland) co-stars as Mary Beth Connolly, presumably the younger sister to Priscilla. She resents the town and she wants to leave. She feels stuck. She goes to a bar and picks up a random guy that ends up causing some chaos in her life. She actually gets involved with a murder, making it the second murder of the film technically.

Having this film be like The Tell-Tale Heart and focusing on that one murder, as well as the guilt surrounding it would have been interesting on its own. Yet, the screenplay feels like a bunch of coincidences that are piled atop, considering that a second murder is thrown into this. As mentioned, the second murder is the murder that arguably isn't solved at the end, or, it's just not as definitive enough for me. The filmmakers are perhaps more subtle for my tastes in that regard, but it's all well done otherwise.

Rated R for language, some violence, sexual material and brief drug use.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 31 mins.

Available on Amazon Prime.