Patrick Stewart Imogen Poots Alia Shawkat Anton Yelchin Callum Turner Joe Cole Mark Webber Macon Blair
In Green
Room, you get to follow five members of a punk rock band (The Ain’t Rights)
across the country trying to land a gig wherever they can. Resources are scant, they sleep on the
bus if need be, and they may have to siphon off gas from cars in parking lots
for fuel. We first see them play
to an almost empty house for just a few bucks, so in desperation, when they get
a tip for a club in Portland, Oregon, they head for it.
They’re greeted and play a set just 20 minutes
after they arrive, and the audience, initially cold, warms up to them. (Pay attention to the appearances of
those attending; it will give you a clue as to what’s in store.) After they perform, the band is shown
to a room where they can relax and prepare for the next set, but…they come
across a body on the floor with a knife sticking out of her head, her hysterical blonde Amber (Poots) who
seems to be familiar with the club, and a huge man with a gun who locks the
door.
At first, band members have no idea what is
going on, but they are sharp, and quickly realize that they need to take steps
to protect themselves and wait for the police to arrive. Part of the horror of the film is our
being shown what is going on outside the room and outside their awareness while
they wait. The room becomes
significant, because during the course of the story, it becomes a safe
harbor. “Green Room” has a number of connotations.
What we are shown outside is Darcy Banker
(Stewart), the owner of the club, and his extensive operation. The plot thickens when we learn the
nature of his business, what he wants from the band, and their intuitive sense
that they are in sinister circumstances.
This is an extremely violent film with multiple
grisly murders. Horror movie fans
will find much to their liking, but others should think twice before
attending. Fortunately for my
ears, there are only brief intervals with The Ain’t Rights’ screeching music
with unintelligible words.
Green
Room is being praised as the feature following Jeremy Saulnier’s
well-received previous film, Blue Ruin. It is high on suspense, and some of the
actors and their characters spark interest. Foremost, of course, is Patrick Stewart in a completely new
role as the club owner, a white supremacist named Darcy. He’s as creepy as they come with his
oh-so-reasonable attempts to persuade the band to come out of the Green
Room. Also impressive is Imogene
Poots as a seemingly quirky dumb blonde who turns out to be not only cool and
calm, but sharp and skilled as well.
She drew laughs more than once with her deadpan utterances. Macon Blair, the star of Blue Ruin, is perfect as Darcy’s
reluctant assistant, the only character among the thugs that seems to have a
conscience.
There is suspense, blood, and gore
aplenty in this newly released horror film.
No comments:
Post a Comment