I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore: I Can’t Wait to See What Macon Blair Does Next

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a fantastic film that showcases director/writer/actor Macon Blair’s (Blue Ruin, Green Room) many talents. His performances in Blue Ruin and Green Room are perfection and it seems like he used his time on set with director Jeremy Saulnier to learn the directing ropes.  I really liked how he let this film bounce between genres while keeping it reigned in enough for it to remain cohesive. I’ve been a big fan of actress Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures, Win Win) for a long time and I love that this film put her front and center in a “hero” role.

The story revolves around a woman named Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) hunting down items that were stolen from her home. Before her house was robbed she was the type of person who let people push her around as she silently watched the world unfold. The robbery pushes her over the edge and she becomes embroiled in a world way out of her league.  Her journey to reclaim her stolen items finds her teaming up with her squirrely neighbor Tony (a very fun Elijah Wood) and becoming enemies with some dangerous criminals. Her misadventures see her dealing with ninja stars, throat strikes, crushed windpipes, poisonous snakes and some grisly death.

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The stakes are relatively low and that is why I love it. It’s refreshing to watch a small stakes crime story unfold in ways you didn’t expect. I dig that the villains are suitably violent but they are still out of their league when amongst proper criminals. I’m a big fan of Jane Levy (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) and it was fun watching her play the villain instead of being terrorized. The final showdown is a thing of gnarly violence and I found myself laughing at all the chaos and blood. Blair was able to create a classic Tarantino-esque showdown that incorporates humor with violent carnage. You will never look at ninja stars the same way again or trust all the guests at your holiday party.

This film earned its Grand Jury Prize from Sundance and hopefully it is able to build an audience so Macon Blair is able to showcase his skills again. The guy has made a very good film and I can’t wait to see what he does next.