Review of Ruby in Paradise (1993) by Justinnetty — 04 Oct 2021

Victor Nunez's Ruby in Paradise presents a sometimes eerily realistic take of a young adult navigating familiar feelings in a strange new environment, specifically Panama City Beach, Florida. The gritty cinematography coupled with the beauty of this beach town keys in on feelings that the main protagonist Ruby Lee Gissing (played by Ashley Judd) comes to develop as she inadvertently creates lasting consequences for herself through impulse decisions that haunt her later in the film.

Her employment at a coastal beach shop and difficulties with social and financial life all play off one another, making the natural progression of events so believable as the story almost seems to write itself on the screen.

Judd's performance takes centerstage as she subtly conveys her feelings through slight behavioral changes and then narrates them through her diary entries after big events play out, making the grounded plot almost fantastical in how realistic it is.

Every new scene of Ruby in Paradise reminds its audience why it is a 1993 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, and for better or worse, a realistic depiction of the harsh realities of life.