Blow the Man Down (film)

Blow the Man Down is a 2019 American black comedy thriller film, written and directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy. It stars Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, Annette O'Toole, Marceline Hugot, Gayle Rankin, Will Brittain, Skipp Sudduth, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, June Squibb, and Margo Martindale.

For the English sea shanty, see Blow the Man Down.
Blow the Man Down
Official poster
Directed by
  • Bridget Savage Cole
  • Danielle Krudy
Produced by
  • Alex Scharfman
  • Drew Houpt
  • Tim Headington
  • Lia Buman
Written by
  • Bridget Savage Cole
  • Danielle Krudy
Starring
Music by
CinematographyTodd Banhazl
Edited byMarc Vives
Production
companies
  • Secret Engine
  • Tango Entertainment
Distributed byAmazon Studios
Release date
  • April 26, 2019 (2019-04-26) (Tribeca)
  • March 20, 2020 (2020-03-20) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2019. It was released on March 20, 2020, by Amazon Studios.

Plot

A man chases a screaming young woman through the snow as Enid watches through the window.

Sisters Priscilla and Mary Beth Connolly attend their mother's funeral. After both sisters have a verbal confrontation, Mary Beth storms out and goes to a bar where she meets a man named Gorski. Drunk, Mary Beth leaves with him and drives his car for him, eventually crashing it. When they get out to look at the damage, Gorski opens his trunk and Mary Beth sees blood inside. Gorski immediately tries to attack Mary Beth, but she flees into the night. Gorski follows her and Mary Beth jumps up behind him and spears him in the neck with a harpoon. Still alive, he grabs for her, but she kills him with a brick to the head.

Mary Beth returns home covered in blood to a shocked Priscilla, who calls the police, but changes her mind and hangs up. Priscilla helps Mary Beth get rid of Gorski's body, using a knife to chop up his arms to make the body fit in a cooler box that they then throw into the ocean. The next day, Priscilla can’t find the knife they used, which has ‘Connolly Fish’ written on it. Mary Beth goes to Gorski's shack to find the knife, but instead finds money. Later, Enid, a brothel owner, sees the Connolly knife in Gorski's shack.

Meanwhile, the body of a woman washes up on the rocks. The woman is identified as Dee, one of the girls working for Enid. Local police officer, Brennan, and his partner Officer Coletti interview Enid, who runs the Oceanview brothel, and the girls who work there, to try to get to the bottom of the murder. Brennan finds Enid suspicious, but Coletti, having known Enid for years, doesn't think so.

Brennan and Coletti find Gorski’s car, which has a gun inside, and blood and a terrible smell in the trunk. The officers are sure that Gorski must be the murderer. Meanwhile, Alexis, one of Enid’s working girls, knowing Enid owed Dee money, believes Enid had her killed. Enid blackmails the Connolly sisters to bring back the money they took from Gorski's shack in exchange for the knife she found there. The sisters decide to confess everything to the police the following day. That night, however, Officer Brennan comes asking questions about the phone call made to the police the night of their mother’s funeral. Mary Beth and Priscilla end up lying about the reason for calling and also about their whereabouts that night. The sisters change their mind about making their confession.

The Connolly sisters go to Enid and return the money. She tells them how much she misses their mother and how their mother left the brothel business to protect the two of them. She offers them some of the money and tells them that they could work for her after it runs out. When they refuse the money, Enid turns angry, calling them spoiled brats and screaming, after which she collapses, drunk. The girls get the knife and leave. Alexis, having overheard the whole thing, enters Enid’s room and smothers her to death with a pillow. She takes the money and leaves town with one of the other girls from the brothel. Doreen notices something in the water.

Gail comes to see Coletti, but the conversation is not revealed. After getting some information, they go to Oceanview. They see the Connolly sisters as they walk towards them. The sisters pass Gail and Doreen, then see Susie washing out the cooler box Gorski was put in. Susie smiles at them.

Cast

Production

Filming began in February 2018 in Harpswell, Maine.[1] The name of the town in the film is changed to Easter Cove, Maine.

Release

It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2019.[2][3] Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film.[4] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2019.[5] It was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on March 20, 2020.[6]

Critical reception

Blow the Man Down received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 98% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 108 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.63/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Clever, funny, and original, Blow the Man Down is one hell of a ride that should not be missed."[7] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 72 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

References
  1. "Harpswell meets Hollywood with 'Blow the Man Down'". 4 April 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  2. Hayes, Dade (March 5, 2019). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Feature Lineup, With Screen Time For John DeLorean, Muhammad Ali, Chelsea Manning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  3. "Blow the Man Down". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  4. Galuppo, Mia (August 15, 2019). "Amazon Nabs Rights to Noir 'Blow the Man Down' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  5. Vlessing, Etan (August 13, 2019). "'The Aeronauts,' 'Burnt Orange Heresy' Added to Toronto Film Fest Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  6. "BLOWTHEMANDOWN Hits Exclusively on Prime Video March 20, 2020. The film stars MorganSaylor SophieLowe and directed by 2 female filmmakers you'll soon know. It's one of the 25 Best Movies Of 2020 We've Already Seen". The Playlist. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  7. "Blow the Man Down (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. "Blow the Man Down Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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