Neil LaBute’s latest flick, “Out of the Blue,” starring Ray Nicholson and Diane Kruger, wears its influences on its sleeve. It’s a clear-cut homage to the film noir genre, with LaBute playing around with various aspects of both classic noir and its neo-noir offspring. This experimentation, however, leaves the film teetering between the two styles.
The characters and cinematography scream neo-noir, while the dialogue and intertitles evoke the spirit of 1930s and 40s classics. This clash creates a somewhat jarring and peculiar viewing experience. Despite the tonal whiplash, LaBute manages to deliver a decent, albeit unoriginal, noir film. “Out of the Blue” isn’t groundbreaking, but it has its charms. If you can adjust to its offbeat mood, it’s not a complete washout.
Out of the Blue (2022) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Connor Bates (Ray Nicholson) lives in the basement of his mother’s house in a small American coastal town. He works in the local library, which, by his own admission, is the only place that would have him due to his record. Connor has been in prison for three years on an assault charge. Besides navigating the labyrinthine library aisles and enduring his probation officer’s (Hank Azaria) tirades about tardiness, he’s a dedicated jogger pounding the pavement along the coast.
That is how he meets Marilyn (Diane Kruger) — the femme fatale of the story. A splash of scarlet against the deserted beach: Connor can’t help but notice the woman in the bright red swimsuit. Introductions are made, and a current of flirtation crackles between them. The connection between Marilyn and Connor is immediate. Marilyn is married to a wealthy businessman, and she has a stepdaughter, Astrid (Chase Sui Wonders).
In the many subsequent rendezvouses, Marilyn gradually confides in Connor. Her husband beats her and is also abusive towards his own daughter. Their secret meetings fan the flames of desire. With each encounter, the physical tension between them intensifies, threatening to erupt into something more. Meanwhile, a colleague at the library named Kim (Gia Krovatin) also seems to like Connor. Kim tells Connor that Astrid is dating the known local playboy, Jared.
With time, the affair between Marilyn and Connor gets stronger, and Connor starts to feel protective of Marilyn. And so grows the desire within Connor: the desire to rescue Marilyn and Astrid from the grip of their tormentor. In the face of the possibility of the end of his relationship with Marilyn, Connor offers to take matters into his own hands. He tells Marilyn that he will kill her husband. So, they start to hatch a plan on that. Marilyn would take Astrid and go away for a trip. Then, Connor would go to their house, find the husband, and then would kill him. Connor does the first two tasks. The final task of the killing does not go as smoothly as he has hoped for.
Out of the Blue (2022) Movie Review:
As mentioned above, “Out of the Blue” is an homage to the genre of film noir and its derivatives. Especially the works based on James M. Cain’s novels. To be even more specific, “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” The film gets downright meta, with the characters repeatedly referencing the novel. They even seem aware of the movie’s similarities to the book. And, of course, casting Ray Nicholson adds another layer of self-referential fun, considering his father, Jack Nicholson, played the lead in the 1981 adaptation of the same novel.
The story, written by LaBute, would be familiar to noir buffs. There is nothing particularly new, but novelty is rare anyway. LaBute, to his credit, builds the tension credibly. Even with the climactic twist being quite foreseeable, the process to reach there has just about the right amount of intrigue. The experiment with intertitles might throw some viewers off with its clunky execution. But, for me, it was not that bothersome. On the contrary, it does invoke an undercutting of seriousness, which somehow mingles quite well with the experimental tone of the film.
Ray Nicholson and Diane Kruger are the heart of this film. They needed to be, as the chemistry between them is the driving force of the story. Kruger plays the quintessential femme fatale, and she is perfect, well complemented by Nicholson’s machismo and earnest naivete. Hank Azaria as the probation officer turned a fine cameo performance as well.
Out of the Blue (2022) Movie Ending, Explained:
Connor struggles to kill the husband, and in the scuffle, the husband gets the upper hand as he gets the gun. Just when he is about to pull the trigger and end Connor’s life, another intruder hits him on the head and instantly kills him. This intruder is revealed to be Jared, Astrid’s boyfriend. Jared says that he came here to burgle and it is a coincidence that Connor and he chose the same night for their respective crimes. However, Connor does not quite believe that and kills him.
After the assassination, Connor gets a call from Marilyn a couple of days later. He confronts her as he thinks that Marilyn and Astrid have sent their respective boyfriends for the same job or there was something that Marilyn did not tell him. Marilyn denies that. A few more days pass by, and Connor finally gets the predetermined message that indicates Marilyn wants to meet him. However, the moment Connor steps out, he gets surrounded by police and his probation officer. A chase ensues and Connor gets cornered in the spot where Marilyn was supposed to come. Despite his probation officer’s best efforts, the local law enforcement officer shoots Connor, misreading Connor’s movement of reaching into his pocket for his phone. Connor dies with the vision of Marilyn in her red swimsuit, the one she wore when Connor saw her first time.
Did Marilyn betray Connor?
Yes. The end scene reveals Marilyn actually wanted Connor to do the killing from the beginning. She even stole one of Connor’s keychains and planted it in her house. For the police to find it later. Add to that the police knowing Connor and Marilyn’s secret spots and an anonymous tip-off from a woman. Connor was played from the beginning.
Will Marilyn betray Astrid?
It was also revealed, by a quite passionate kiss between them, that Marilyn and Astrid are in a relationship. And not of a mother-step-daughter kind. However, the film does tantalize the possibility even that the relationship could be a trap by Marilyn. Marilyn says a similar line to Astrid as she did to Connor. The line about water being colder than it looked. That does sound like a premonition. Marilyn would get the vast wealth of her husband if Astrid died. So, it is quite fair to assume that Astrid is also on the line of getting the same sticky end as that of Connor.
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