Green Room (2015)
directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Rated R for brutal graphic violence, drugs, and cussin
For fans of punk rock, antifa, and Patrick Stewart. Full disclosure, Dr. Xavier ain’t one of the good guys.
My rating: Kill Nazis – You may think this is the only film that I’m gonna give this rating to, but you’d be wrong! I’ve got at least one more this year that’s gonna fit this bill and I hope I discover even more! As our entire country is being run into the ground by Neo-Nazis, it can be cathartic to watch a bunch of Nazis get what they deserve. I should say that the movie is pretty brutal and there is both a dog killing a human and a dog being shot, though it does not die on screen.
Some thoughts: It’s St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow and I really considered recommending Leprechaun to you fine folks, but it just didn’t feel quite right. Perhaps it’s because the movie is tonally all over the place or maybe it’s because I just watched it for the first time yesterday and I’m still trying to process it. Regardless, in the spirit of the holiday, I chose something green.
We’ve been talking punk over here at L&E and, dear reader, one of our future pieces of collaborative fiction will likely be about a punk band, so I wanted to recommend something on brand. I usually try to distill the plot down myself, but I think IMDB’s plot synopsis really says it all: “A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.” With the dynamic of the musicians and the whole situation around them taking the gig, the movie does a really great job of showing what it’s like to be in an independent touring band. I never had to play at an isolated Nazi venue, but I have ended up in a lot of strange and occasionally scary venues to make a little money and maybe get a place to stay. The movie has a killer soundtrack, excellent performances and pacing, and features the very talented and gone too soon, Anton Yelchin. Check it out!