Review of Red White & Blue (2010) by Jesse O — 18 Sep 2012

Excellent film with an unsettling and disturbing end. The movie is actually a very intelligent and inventive twist on the revenge thriller genre because things aren't as black and white as you usually see them in movies.

It's a complex movie with the protagonists themselves being both the good and bad guys. The movie's first hour is mostly setting these characters up for what's going to happen in the second half of the film, so it may seem like the movie is slow to some but it is well written, excellently acted, Noah Taylor is tremendous and compelling enough that I was never bored, nor did the movie give me any reason to be.

The second hour is incredibly powerful, visceral and uncompromising. So if you've got a weak stomach then definitely don't watch this movie because there's some really violent scenes. Well it's really just the one near the end, which I won't spoil, but it's really disturbing and gruesome.

There was a problem I had with the film score. Near the end, during Nate's section where he goes crazy, the score goes absolutely haywire, discordant and playing very loudly. I suppose this was supposed to signify Nate and how unstable/psychotic he could really be.

The problem is, it's annoying, to the point where it detracts from the scene as a whole. And it's not like it was even needed because Noah Taylor's work was top-notch and he did a great job at playing this psychopath.

So it was completely unnecessary. This is even more apparent when, during the really violent scene, there's a simple but very creepy piano track playing over the proceedings which did more to sell me on Nate's insanity than the previous scenes did.

That's pretty much the only complaint I had with this movie, just a tremendous and uncompromising film with some complex characters, excellent performances, and great writing that this film almost seems like a no-brainer if you enjoy thrillers.

But be warned, the movie is most definitely very unsettling, which is part of what makes it as good as it is. Highly recommend this film.