Rating of
3/4
Green Room Runs Red With Artistic Violence
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/06/16
I have to hand it to director Jeremy Saulnier, this is a man who has turned violence into a kind of art form. I had high hopes after Blue Ruin and Green Room (not part of a color trilogy or anything) is a fantastic follow-up. Both films are kind of bleak and definitely violent, but instead of using a sledgehammer to get his point across, it's more like a scalpel - and it cuts deep.
Green Room follows a punk band a bit down on their luck (and funds) who take a gig in a shady joint in the Pacific Northwest that happens to house some white power people. Hey, at least they get paid - but just when they're about to leave, they stumble upon a horrific crime and suddenly find themselves held until the leader arrives to sort things out.
The band members are played by Anton Yelchin (in one of his final film roles - may he rest in peace), Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole and Callum Turner. They are kept in the room with a friend of the victim (Imogen Poots) as well a burly mountain of man (Eric Edelstein), meant to keep the group under control. The leader of the White Supremacists is played by Patrick Stewart - yes, the same man brought us Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X has turned to the dark side - and is he ever good in the role. Just his presence is enough to make the film better, but when he threatens with that calm yet demanding tone - chills, you get genuine chills because you know he means business.
The film does not skimp on the violence. Gun shots, machete chops, dog attacks - the violence comes quick and dirty but, as I said, Saulnier doesn't just do violence for violence sake - he makes it part of the fabric of his film. Yelchin plays such a great reluctant hero. He's not strong, he's not exactly brave but he also isn't dumb. Watching him face the trials he does - it's both a testament to the late actor and a fitting memorial to his range. Poots is in the same boat, doing what she can to survive against overwhelming odds.
Besides the main actors, I give credit to Macon Blair. He was amazing in Blue Ruin and though he is given a smaller part here, his role is no less important. He plays essentially a toady - who never looks like he's fully committed to the cause but is always there to try to clean things up. And, hey, not joke - I give props to the animal handlers for finding such a great dog to play a vicious attack dog and yet show some surprising emotion. It's hard to make you feel bad about anyone in the film (seeing as most of them are killer skinheads) but I wanted to forgive that poor animal at the end.
Green Room keeps things tense and tight. You never know what is coming - but you know it's right around the corner. Yes it's on the bleak side. Yes some characters could have been more rounded out. Still, in the end, for a thriller this is right up there with the good ones and goes to show that by taking a chance, even an ultra violent film can be artistic.
