Review of Blue Jay (2016) by Flipje — 26 May 2021

This is one of those films you feel grateful for sitting through yet when asked if you'd give it a second glance, you might pause and consider your precious time. Not to say that Blue Jay is not agonzingly poignant and well-made.

It is both. It's a solid little gem but like trying olives for the first time as a child, you know you should enjoy it more but something tells you, don't force it. The film premise promises to be direct and authentic as two former teen sweethearts awkwardly reconnect in a rustic California town.

These middle-aged souls actually meet while out at the grocery store, with Amanda (Paulson) sporting a woolen cap and Jim (Duplass) looking especially disheveled in his shaggy beard. From there, all is not right in the best of all possible worlds though surfaces seem to suggest as much.

Jim is in town to renovate his deceased mother's house. Amanda is visiting her sister, a new mother. Her life: she never had kids herself, instead became a step-mother to two wonderful kids. Happily married to an wonderful older man.

Jim is spouse-less and childless. Things are not looking good for him in post-relationship bingo. And as an audience member, a part of you prays (secretly) at this point, when these initial admissions are spoken over coffee, let's end it there.

Jim, just walk away, she's clearly got you beat but of course the movie has to happen, and the past is rehashed during the course of a single day. The poignant: revisiting the store where they bought alcohol and being recognized by the elderly owner or when the two former sweethearts rediscover tapes from their teen years when they pretended to be older or supposedly mature.

I liked when Jim and Amanda were lying in the back of his truck, staring at the stars but the gut wrenching starts when they finally get to their grievances at the core of their break-up. This movie captures the difficulties of unexpressed woe and conflicted memories.

As a film, it does the trick but when ideally do you watch a film like this? When is it cathartic for a viewer? This is not a Friday night, pizza night flick nor something you would want to sit through with the love of your life during moments of puppy romance.

This is the real life equivalent to getting expensive wine on your shirt. You have to get through it, go through the motions of handling the mess but at least you know your taste is inpeccable.