Out Of The Blue

Even if i am a big horror fan, i do enjoy a good thriller. Especially if the plot is interesting and brings something different to the table. To be able to make a great thriller, you have to know how to build up tensions that leaves a big impact. The film does not need to have a complicated plot, as long as the story is well told and have interesting characters included. I have seen a lot of thrillers since the 80´s, and there are a lot of great titles to choose between. It all depends on what kind of thriller you are looking for, and if you don´t mind violence. I could easily say that you should see the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction with Michael Dougles and Glenn Close ( it is definetely worth checking out ), but i would like to take this moment to talk about a thriller film that does not get mentioned anymore. And it is not that old, and that is the 2010 thriller known as Buried. Directed by Rodrigo Cortéz, this film tells the story of Iraq-based civilian truck driver Paul Conroy ( played by actor Ryan Reynolds, in one of his most interesting acting roles ), who, after being attacked, finds himself buried aline in a wooden coffin, with a limited amount of supplies. The one thing that makes Buried stand out from the crowd in the thriller section, is that it´s actually much clever than most thrillers. You may think you know all the answers from the beginning, but as you move towards the end of the film, you will soon realise that there is much more to the background story. Even if the film is 12 years old today, it is still one of those titles i highly recommend. It is well made, have some really good acting, and the film also looks really good, even if we are inside a wooden coffin. Definetely the best film from director Rodrigo Cortéz so far. A must see, and i suggest you pick up the film on DVD or Blu Ray and you should be able to get it for a good prize. Romantic thrillers is something we used to see a lot of, especially during the 80´s and 90´s. There are still films made in this category in present day, and even if you don´t hear much about them, i still take some time to check out some titles. One of the films i did see the trailer for a few months ago is a film called Out Of The Blue. Not knowing much about the plot, i decided to give this film a chance. Is this one of the better romance thrillers of this year, or is Out Of The Blue a film that will most likely be forgotten?

Connor ( Ray Nicholson ) is trying to get his life back together, after being locked up in prison for 3 years. He manage to get a job as a librarian at the local library, where he enjoy helping visitors. At the beach one day he meets a woman named Marilyn ( Diane Kruger ), and instantly feel a connection between them. They start seeing each other, even though Marilyn is married. The secret relationship will eventually lead them into trouble.

I don´t really know why director Neil LaBute felt the need to do this film in such an odd way, but Out Of The Blue is one of the strangest thrillers i have seen in quite some time. There are some really odd events that suddenly happens for no reason at all, and i suppose it is at least good that everything is not completely predictable. That does not mean that this makes Out Of The Blue more interesting, because even if you add some unexpected scenes, you need to be able to tell a story that´s interesting. And this is probably where i find myself lost with Out Of The Blue, that this film does not build up any real tensions. It could have been interesting about an ex prisoner trying to find his way in society. But what we get instead is a story that is constructed together without a bigger purpose, and just becomes a thriller about a cheating wife who want´s her husband murdered. I have some other negative things to say as well, but let´s get into something positive. The film does not look bad, and i like the beautiful locations where this film was made. Even if actress Diane Kruger ( who i love in Quentin Tarantiono´s film Inglorious Basterds, and is also good in the Liam Neeson thriller Unknown ) does not do one of her better performances here, but is definetely the most interesting character in this film. One character i wish we could have seen more of, is the character Kim ( played by actress Gia Crovatin ). I find her personality fascinating, and if it wasn´t for Gia´s screen presence, i believe Out Of The Blue would have been even weaker. So let´s go back to the negative again, and lead actor Ray Nicholson is pretty weak as a lead character. If they really wanted to tell a story surrounding his return to society after being locked up for 3 years in prison, they probably should have done it in a different way. The cheating story have been done so many times before, i don´t really see why you should pick this film if you can find something better like A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Viggo Mortensen. Out Of The Blue is not a horrible film, it just lacks of passion and an interesting story. Director Neil LaBute have directed several great films in the past, such as Lakeview Terrace with Samuel L Jackson. Out Of The Blue is probably one of his weakest films yet unfortunately, and i was actually looking forward to see this film. If you love romantic thrillers, you could do worse than Out Of The Blue, but don´t have any high expectations. I suggest you check out A Perfect Murder from 1998 instead, and i promise you will enjoy that film more than this one.

Rating: DD