Small town Maine isn’t exactly high on the list of Hollywood representation. Maybe that’s because a host of powerful women are burying stories like Blow the Man Down before they see the light of day. Matriarchy’s presence in the story gives Blow the Man Down a fresh energy to a well worn genre to burst it with entertainment anew. Blow the men down indeed.
It’s been a tough year for Connolly sisters, Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Patricia (Sophie Lowe). Their mom just passed away, and they found out they can’t afford to live in their house. Mary Beth tries to drown her sorrows in alcohol, but ends up nearly assaulted, surviving by doing what it takes to survive. What follows is a Twin Peaks like journey through the town’s underbelly, including her mother’s best friend Enid (Margo Martindale).
The small town with dark secrets is a totally reliable delivery service for thrills. Thankfully, Easter Cove in Blow the Man Down is so small it only needs a little movie. Writer directors Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole unfurl the story slowly, introducing the pieces and stitching them slowly together. Krudy and Cole throw our expectations out of whack by flipping the script: women are in power positions, and the men are basically pawns in their games and schemes. That means major decisions take place in strange places like dining room tea time or a cute bed & breakfast. Being set adrift in a strange place like that gave me a large sense of unease early on, unsure where to find my footing for a while.
Helping Blow the Man Down is a series of character actors or bit players in quality shows, getting their chance to shine here; I did a lot of “hey, I know them!” Once Upon a Time in Hollywood DiCaprio points. Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe made their names on TV shows, and due their parts as the straight ladies to the quirky townspeople. Lowe in particular is an interesting mix of a character who goes through the bigger arc of the two. Gayle Rankine takes off the GLOW wrestling outfit to play the hard ass pivotal Alexis, knowing more than she lets on. Marceline Hugot, Annette O’Toole, and June Squibb are solid acting vets giving the ruling class triumvirate of matriarchs this judgy power, taking advantage of the power loss at the top of the town with Mrs. Connolly passing away. And, as always, character actress Margo Martindale is the glue of the cast, using that magnetic voice and power it generates, as well as her wonderful facial expressions, to drive the story forward, moving pieces around her as she becomes more and more of a threat.
Until this movie, I had never considered the lyrics of Blow the Man Down. The last two lines are below:
“Now pray, pay attention and listen to me,
Give me some time to blow the man down.”
Clearly that’s the synopsis for this movie. But instead of a literal wave, we’ve got a metaphorical one, about to crash down on them and put them in their place, because they are powerless to stop it.