Blow the Man Down<\/em>, available now on Amazon Prime, is one of those streaming-only releases that stands to gain the most from the current situation. It\u2019s a solid but smaller movie that in normal circumstances might get overlooked. With the benefit of increasing demand (and increasing eyeballs) this Coen-esque female-led crime thriller has a better chance of getting the audience it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writer\/directors Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole set their story in cold and rugged Easter Cove, Maine, where two sisters, Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) are preparing for their mother\u2019s funeral. Mom left the girls a house they can\u2019t afford and a fish business that\u2019s barely staying afloat. The restless Mary Beth wants out, and fights her boredom by seeking out trouble. The more modest Priscilla just wishes her little sister would take more responsibility. One night, an evening at the bar for Mary Beth takes a violent turn, and ends with a body to bury. The girls\u2019 troubles coincide with the murder of a local sex worker, and the two crimes send the sisters down a rabbit hole of local secrets, guarded by Easter Cove\u2019s town matriarchs (June Squibb, Marceline Hugot, Annette O\u2019Toole and Margo Martindale).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blow the Man Down<\/em> has a strong sense of place and local culture, which Krudy and Savage Cole establish with both stark reality and warm humor. It wouldn\u2019t be stretching to say that the movie often feels like the New England version of Fargo<\/em>. That\u2019s a bit of an oversimplification, though. Blow the Man Down<\/em> is unique in its own right; while its tale of rural crime and small town secrets feels familiar, the perspective–overwhelmingly female–is pretty refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blow the Man Down<\/em> is a strong showcase for older female character actors (the cast is one Ann Dowd short of a royal flush in that regard). In most movies, performers like Squibb, Martindale and O\u2019Toole would maybe<\/em> get to steal a few scenes. Here, they\u2019re the main attraction. It\u2019s clear from the jump that these women power the town, and are bonded together by intense shared experiences. When shown in parallel with Mary Beth and Priscilla, they present an intergenerational portrait of what it\u2019s like to be female in a community with such strong macho undercurrents. The short answer, of course, is that it isn\u2019t easy. The longer answer is much more sordid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blow the Man Down<\/em> suffers from a few nonsensical character choices and plot turns that don\u2019t quite stick the landing. However, its overall message of female solidarity and doing what it takes to get by is a take on the standard small-town crime thriller that feels personal and insightful. If nothing else, it\u2019s heartening to see such a gallery of female talent (particularly female talent over 60) represented in a compelling way. ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Blow-the-Man2-Jeong-ParkAmazon-Studios-.jpg\")
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