Review of Bluebird (2015) by Tj M — 01 May 2014
I saw this desolate film at the Cleveland International Film Festival 2014. This independent film shot in Maine in the dead of winter has several name actors. It is a character study with an impressive ensemble cast.
The isolated wintery setting is a strong feature in the film, and appropriately it is a USA and Sweden co-production. The film is a study of negligence. A goodhearted bus driver feels shock and remorse after her failure to complete a check of her bus at the end of a shift leads to a sleeping boy nearly freezing to death.
The boy's teen mother missed picking him up because she was either drunk or high while fooling around with a guy at his trailer. The teen mom is bitter about having a son and expects her born-again Christian mom to take responsibility for raising the child until lawyers convince her to place the blame squarely on the bus driver.
The bus driver's husband and daughter feel stifled at home and the family is drifting apart and facing economic difficulty. The film starts and ends by showing the process of the local logging industry and the subsequent way that the logs are run through the local paper mill.
The characters and the audience are similarly cut up, mashed up, and pressed through the mill.
This review of Bluebird (2015) was written by Tj M on 01 May 2014.
Bluebird has generally received mixed reviews.
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