TIFF 2019: Our Review of ‘Blow the Man Down’

Posted in Festival Coverage, Movies, Theatrical, TIFF 2019 by - September 03, 2019
TIFF 2019: Our Review of ‘Blow the Man Down’

Everything about Blow The Man Down screams throwback, especially to 90s independent cinema. There’s a little color saturation, there are some scenes that play fast.

All in all, there’s both a sensitivity, spunk, and gravitas in this feature. And that’s what writer-directors Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole need here.

They are telling the story of two young sisters, Mary Beth and Priscilla. Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe, respectively, play the duo mourning their mother.

Their situation worsens when Mary Beth kills a man in self defense. They throw his body away, but that doesn’t stop people from asking questions.

This premise is simultaneously wild and realistic, personal enough to be relate-able. It’s more about the characters than the small seaside town they live in.

Rural areas feel more like a space where men dominate women. Focusing on the women, intrinsic to the premise here, is a refreshing choice.

Some critics will compare this film to the ones that the Coens make. Those films, as great as they are, play to emotional extremes.

This film, however, plays within that sweet spot between moodiness and big laughs. There are moments of levity here and it never takes itself too seriously.

I also want to go back to the colors in this wintry film. There’s a richness in depicting a season that other films portray flatly.

There’s also something agile about this film despite of where it takes place. A place where these characters grow up and do what they must.

For more information go to https://www.tiff.net/events/blow-the-man-down.

  • Release Date: 9/9/2019
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While Paolo Kagaoan is not taking long walks in shrubbed areas, he occasionally watches movies and write about them. His credentials are as follows: he has a double major in English and Art History. This means that, for example, he will gush at the art direction in the Amityville house and will want to live there, which is a terrible idea because that house has ghosts. Follow him @paolokagaoan on Instagram but not while you're working.
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