Director: Jeremy Saulnier
By Alex Watson
Currently the new hot indie director on the block, Jeremy Saulnier has once again created another inventive thriller in Green Room. Although it lacks the black comedy element of his debut, Blue Ruin it does succeed in cranking up the suspense to unbearable levels. Its unique setting of a band being trapped in the midst of bloodthirsty Neo-Nazi may raise and eyebrow, but it is executed so slickly that soon it is the furthest thing from your mind.
The Aint Rights are a punk band consisted of Pat (Anton Yelchin), Reece (Joe Cole), Tiger (Callum Turner) and Sam (Alia Shawkat). Arriving for a gig in Portland, Oregon they quickly establish the crowd is made up of White Power followers. In the green room afterwards, they witness a horrifying act which leads to them being taken hostage. The bars owner and leader Darcy (Patrick Stewart) is particularly eager to be rid of them.
Opening with a series of misadventures that sees this band booked into the worse possible venue. Immediately upon opening they suicidally decide to cover The Dead Kennedy's anthem 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off!' Although set wins over a few admirers, especially with the psychotic Werm (Brett Werzner) who fronts house band. All seems ordinary enough as the band is ushered away after being paid, but when they stumbled upon a freshly murdered corpse things take a bad turn. Here they come across Amber (Imogen Poots) who is forced to hole up in the green room with them while the troopers are called.
The arrival of the calculated Darcy sends ripples in the water because he is a man who is happy to resort to negotiations by either murder or using words. Threatening even when standing behind a door frame, he rallies the men including Gabe (Macon Blair) for one hell of a night. Soon Green Room takes on a tense and claustrophobic feel where both sides are required to think fast to resolve difficult situations. Frequently things could potentially descend into Django Unchained style shootout horror, but thankfully Saulnier keeps his story in check. Given his audience short but controlled bursts of excitement adds to already building suspense.
There is a bleak feeling surrounding the middle of nowhere club and a happy ending is not at all guaranteed (what fun would that be right?). Through our heroes and villains, we are given a surprisingly deeply bunch, especially Gabe whose motives might not be hurtful. Pat becomes the defacto leader, who at first struggles against the tide but grows a set later on. This band is in a venue far out of their depth to begin with and although they play out as being anti-society, they are more normal underneath the surface. Like Blue Ruin before it, the ending provided is very unexpected and will leave Saulnier fans puzzling over its meaning.
Although we are given fine lead turns by Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots, this picture belongs to the supporting turn of Patrick Stewart. Obviously happy to play against type, Stewart takes on the evil mould with such relish it is almost frightening. Darcy is a man who keeps his head level and his thinking a dozen moves ahead. Yelchin does excel as the weak yet determined Pat and his transformation to reluctant and desperate hero is noteworthy. Macon Blair once again proves to be Saulnier's go to man despite a lesser role and his downplayed loyalty to his leader almost makes us feel pained as he is aware of the sacrifice he is making.
Green Room is a clever thriller that once more puts Saulnier on the map as a potential indie king. Knowing how to stretch a low budget and a keen eye for story, something tells me this man has a big future ahead.
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