Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin is one of the very best films to come out the 2010s, which left me approaching Green Room with excitement to see more from Saulnier but also trepidation over whether he could twist my stomach into tense knots again. The film did not start well for me. It’s steeped in punk band culture, which I have no enthusiasm for, and the film does nothing to give the characters interest, aside from the casting of Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawkat. By contrast, Blue Ruin is immediately personable and the revenge story sucks in family members like a black hole. For example, halfway through the sister’s first scene I was immediately drawn to her character. With Green Room, the siege was already on and I still really didn’t care about the band or the plight they found themselves in.
However, and this is a biggie, Saulnier does prove himself to be one of the freshest new cinematic voices working today. He traffics in tense and violent confrontations, but he does it in a way completely different from any filmmaker I can think of who’s come before. The violence is harsh, but it isn’t done for kicks, something that is increasingly dating filmmakers like Tarantino and Rodriguez. It’s also not wholly depressing. Saulnier’s film can definitely be classified a Thriller, but he hits that sweet spot where the thrills and tension come with an emotional core. The excitement is nail biting because nobody is safe.
There are two shots (which I will only vaguely describe) that play in my head over and over again. In one, one of our heroes does something completely bad ass involving a couch. The other involves a vicious dog sharing a sweet moment with his master. This is Saulnier’s world, the good guys give off cinematic cool by being smart while the bad guys are allowed to be human. I hope he’s able to keep walking this tightrope because despite an uninvolving beginning, Green Room confirms Jeremy Saulnier as a filmmaker who may eventually change what we come to expect from movies. [see also: Rebel Ridge.]
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