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.

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