Blue Car

This film is testament my long-held belief that there should be more female writers and directors in film. Despite having a very ordinary title, Blue Car is a fantastic film that examines modern teenage femininity in a supremely talented, intelligent and insightful way.

Blue Car would have been a great title for a book. And in fact most of this film plays out as a book would. The peaks, troughs and climax are dealt with in a manner much like a novel. Now, it must be taken into account that I watched all the deleted scenes on this DVD, which certainly lead me to the above conclusion.

I was immediately drawn into the world of Meg, and there was a chilling sense of foreboding running as an undercurrent to my viewing. Agnes Bruckner Is superb, particularly in the highly emotional and/or squeamish scenes. David Strathairn is also perfect, in a role that could be seen to be career-ending (although everyone said that about the actors in Happiness, and I’ve seen many of them go onto plenty of other films). Rather than the usual cathartic tragic teen drama, this is a film that knows just when to hold back, and when to go at it hammer and tongs.

The only complaint about the film (apart from my rant above) is that the cover seems to completely contradict the tone of the film. I’m holding back here so as not to spoil the plot, but this ultimately feminist tale is ruined by a cover that seems to be pandering to a simple-minded and sexist male audience.

Blue Car is fantastic. One of the rare occasions in the last year when I’ve been really taken by a film.