Wikipedia

Blow the Man Down (film)

For the English sea shanty, see Blow the Man Down.

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.

Blow the Man Down
Official poster
Directed by
  • Bridget Savage Cole
  • Danielle Krudy
Written by
  • Bridget Savage Cole
  • Danielle Krudy
Produced by
  • Alex Scharfman
  • Drew Houpt
  • Tim Headington
  • Lia Buman
Starring
CinematographyTodd Banhazl
Edited byMarc Vives
Music by
Production
companies
  • Secret Engine
  • Tango Entertainment
Distributed byAmazon Studios
Release dates
  • 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

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Priscilla and Mary Beth Connolly are sisters living in the small fishing town of Easter Cove, Maine. Their mother Mary Margaret has died, and family friends Doreen Burke, Susie Gallagher, and Gail Maguire offer condolences at her wake. The sisters argue after Mary Beth learns that their mother took out a loan for the struggling family fishmonger business, which could jeopardize their house.

At a bar, Mary Beth drinks with a stranger named Gorski. Driving him home in his car, she is unnerved by a gun in his glove compartment, and crashes the car when he caresses her leg. Inspecting the damage, she sees blood and a woman's belongings inside the trunk, and flees. When Gorski follows her, she stabs him with a harpoon and bashes his head in with a brick.

Mary Beth returns home to a shocked Priscilla, who calls the police but hangs up. The sisters use Priscilla's knife to chop up Gorski's corpse to fit in a cooler box, which they throw in the ocean. The next day, Priscilla cannot find the knife, inscribed with 'Connolly Fish', and Mary Beth searches Gorski's shack but instead finds $50,000 in cash.

Local police officer Justin Brennan borrows the Connolly's boat to pick up a body washed up on shore, which is not Gorski but a prostitute named Dee, who was shot. Doreen, Susie, and Gail confront Dee's employer Enid Devlin, a longtime friend of Mary Margaret who runs the 'Oceanview', the town brothel. Refusing to give up her business, Enid goes looking for Gorski, who worked for her, and finds Priscilla's bloody knife.

Doreen, Susie, and Gail reach out to Alexis, one of Enid's girls who was close with Dee. Enid is questioned by Brennan and Officer Coletti, who has known Enid for years and warns off his younger partner, but Brennan is unconvinced. Enid's suspicions about the knife are confirmed when she notices Mary Beth spending the cash, and Priscilla's bloody boots, and she tells the sisters that they can always come to her for help.

Priscilla and Mary Beth visit Doreen, who reveals that years ago she, Susie, Gail, and Mary Margaret made a decision: to protect their own daughters from the men passing through the local port, they allowed Enid to operate the Oceanview as a brothel. Mary Beth shows Priscilla the money, and Brennan and Coletti find Gorski's car with the gun and bloody evidence inside.

Enid blackmails the Connolly sisters to return the money in exchange for the knife. The sisters decide to go to the police, but after Brennan, who is attracted to Priscilla, unexpectedly joins them for dinner and asks about the call made to the police the night of the murder, they change their mind about confessing. Alexis, knowing Enid owed Dee money, tells Susie that she believes Enid had Dee killed. Brennan learns that Mary Beth was seen with Gorski the night he disappeared, realizing Priscilla lied to him.

Gail, Susie, and Doreen warn Enid that she and her business have crossed a line. The Connolly sisters return the money to Enid, who drunkenly tells them how much she misses their mother, who left the brothel business for her daughters' sake. She offers them some of the money, but they refuse, leaving with the knife. Alexis, knowing that Dee stole the money from Enid, who had Gorski kill her, smothers Enid to death with a pillow, takes the money and drives away from the town together with one of the other brothel girls.

Doreen spots the Connollys' cooler, which has floated to shore. On information from Gail, Susie, and Doreen, Coletti prepares to close down Oceanview. He and Brennan see the Connolly sisters walking in the street, but Brennan has changed his mind about Priscilla. She and Mary Beth pass by Gail, Doreen, and Susie, who are singing "Blow the Man Down" as they properly dispose of Gorski's body; the sisters realize Susie is washing out the incriminating cooler, and she smiles at them.

Cast

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Production

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

The film includes several sea shanties sung on camera, most led by David Coffin.[2]

Release

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It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2019.[3][4] Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film.[5] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2019.[6] It was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on March 20, 2020.[7]

Critical reception

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Blow the Man Down received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 98% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 120 reviews, with an average of 7.6/10. 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."[8] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 72 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Accolades

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List of awards and nominations for Blow the Man Down
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2019 Philadelphia Film Festival Best Narrative Feature Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated [10]
Best First Feature Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated
Tribeca Film Festival Best Screenplay Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Won [11]
Best Narrative Feature Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated
2020 Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Award Best Picture Blow the Man Down Nominated [12]
Best Indie Film Blow the Man Down Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated [13]
Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated [14]
Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy Nominated [15]
2021 Golden Tomato Awards Best-Reviewed Thriller of 2020 Blow the Man Down Won [16]
Chlotrudis Award Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast The cast of Blow the Man Down Nominated [17]

References

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  1. ^ "Harpswell meets Hollywood with 'Blow the Man Down'". 4 April 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  2. ^ Juillerat, Rachel (March 15, 2021). "One Year Later, "Blow The Man Down" Deserves Another Chance". Independent Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Blow the Man Down". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Galuppo, Mia (August 15, 2019). "Amazon Nabs Rights to Noir 'Blow the Man Down' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Vlessing, Etan (August 13, 2019). "'The Aeronauts,' 'Burnt Orange Heresy' Added to Toronto Film Fest Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Blow the Man Down". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "Blow the Man Down Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "28th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philadelphia Film Society. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  11. ^ "2019 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS & ICYMI MOMENTS". Tribeca. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  12. ^ "The 3rd Annual Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards Nominations – Hollywood Critics Association". Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  13. ^ "Blow the Man Down | Palm Springs International Film Festival". www.psfilmfest.org. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  14. ^ "Film Independent Spirit Awards 2020: See the full winners list". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  15. ^ "Full programme announced for Glasgow Film Festival 2020". Filmoria. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  16. ^ "Best Thrillers 2020". Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  17. ^ "2021, 27th Annual Awards". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
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