Blow the Man Down
Directed by: Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy
Written by: Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy
Starring: Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor, Margot Martindale, Gayle Rankin, June Squibb, Marceline Hugot, Annette O'Toole, Will Brittain, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Skipp Suddoth
Comedy/Drama/Mystery - 90 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl 18 Mar 2020
Written by: Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy
Starring: Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor, Margot Martindale, Gayle Rankin, June Squibb, Marceline Hugot, Annette O'Toole, Will Brittain, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Skipp Suddoth
Comedy/Drama/Mystery - 90 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl 18 Mar 2020
Even though it is geographically shoved into a corner and lacks famous urban centers, Maine is no stranger to its fair share of crime and things which go bump in the night. This is Stephen King territory who peppers the interior forests with killer clowns and pet cemeteries. Disney populated the coast with a mischievous dragon with a fondness for looking after orphans until they found a more suitable family situation. Co-writers and directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy see Maine’s idyllic, sleepy fishing towns and instead of salt of the Earth, they see salty fishermen and even saltier matriarchs who have their thumbs on more than thimbles and needlepoint. Blow the Man Down is crime noir whose setting is colder than Chinatown and whose power centers are more Social Security than sociopaths.
Picture a town which operates by its own rules and where Johnny Law is more nuisance than necessary. 19th century wild west may pop to mind, not a modern day Maine seaport. Even though this port is not Miami or Rio, more than fish washes up on the shore to nobody’s particular surprise. Facing this reality, the town’s women took matters into their own hands long ago and shaped how the town’s vices would run. The bed and breakfast is the whorehouse. The drugs and drama stay down on the docks. Roles were assigned, daily operations were set in motion, and as long as nobody stepped out of line or overreached, folks could pretend they were any other tranquil township.
Picture a town which operates by its own rules and where Johnny Law is more nuisance than necessary. 19th century wild west may pop to mind, not a modern day Maine seaport. Even though this port is not Miami or Rio, more than fish washes up on the shore to nobody’s particular surprise. Facing this reality, the town’s women took matters into their own hands long ago and shaped how the town’s vices would run. The bed and breakfast is the whorehouse. The drugs and drama stay down on the docks. Roles were assigned, daily operations were set in motion, and as long as nobody stepped out of line or overreached, folks could pretend they were any other tranquil township.
With the passing of their mother, one of the aforementioned leading ladies, Priscilla and Mary Beth Connolly must make some choices regarding their futures. Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) wants to continue life as she knows it. The town of Easter Cove is home. Her mother’s passing comes with a boat load of debt, but Priscilla wants to make a go of it at the family store rather than bank on any uncertain schemes in parts unknown. Mary Beth Connolly (Morgan Saylor, Novitiate), on the other hand, emits an external bravado about running off to college and setting free from hometown shackles. When Mary Beth makes poor choices regarding men one night requiring Priscilla’s help to clean up and hide the mess, the girls unknowingly pick open the town’s scab holding together the local prostitution racket, money laundering, and uneasy alliances.
A bag of money is missing and the town madame and menacing Mother Hen, Enid Nora Devlin (Margo Martindale, The Kitchen), has methods of finding out who has it and even harsher mechanisms for getting it back. Her control of the country courtesans is not as iron-fisted as it used to be and the other geriatric Godmothers, led by June Squibb (Nebraska), consider how to mop up the mess over tea and cakes. Shot in small town Maine, which earns its authenticity as everyone looks really cold, Blow the Man Down settles into a routine crime drama.
The most startling twist is there isn’t one. The plot is as straight-forward and no-nonsense as its blue collar characters. Martindale leads the way with a gritty performance and we understand all the undertones of her juicy au revoir, “Toodaloo, bitches.” Lowe and Saylor pull their weight as the girls in over their heads, but the script only has them spin their wheels rather than venture into any off-the-beaten-path, risky territory. An unexpected, sharp plot turn would make Blow the Man Down a much more memorable experience, but the directors opt for a more linear reality than quirky mystery.
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