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OUT OF BLUE Director: Carol Morley Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Toby Jones, Mamie Gummer, Jacki Weaver, James Caan
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escribed as a neo-noir by the film's Director Carol Morley (right), Out of Blue is a quiet and intense film based on the 2017 novel Night Train by Martin Amis. Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winner Patricia Clarkson plays detective Mike Hoolihan, investigating the murder of a leading astro-physicist, Miriam Rockwell (Mamie Gummer).
The narrative follows the on-going homicide investigation, which delves into the victim’s life and relationships as well as the life of its investigating officer. Clarkson gives a powerful and captivating performance as the detective whose own dark past becomes drawn into her current investigation. A stellar supporting cast sees Toby Jones as the jittery Prof Ian Strammi who initially discovers the body as well as Academy Award nominated Jacki Weaver as crazed mother of the victim and The Godfather actor James Caan as her military hero husband. There is also a stand out performance from relative newcomer Jonathan Majors as the grieving boyfriend. Set to the backdrop of the stifling Louisiana heat, this film feels as if it has taken inspiration from the True Detective TV series starring Matthew McConaughey. Dark twists and turns are at every corner of the plot, inter weaved with a philosophical look at the meaning of life and our place in the universe. On the surface this is a detective movie but it's one witha difference. It's heartening to see a female character in the leading role and brings a fresh take on the many male heavy detective films littering our steaming platforms. Out of Blue doesn't pander to this historical gender bias or make any excuses for the choice of female detective, in fact it faces them head on when Mrs Rockwell (Jacki Weaver) asks “ever dress like a woman?”, to which Hollihan (Patricia Clarkson) replies “there are many ways to be a woman”. www.thefrankmagazine.com