Out of Blue
When Detective Mike Hoolihan is called to investigate the shooting of leading astrophysicist and black hole expert, Jennifer Rockwell, she is affected in ways she struggles to comprehend.
Cast
Patricia Clarkson – Detective Mike Hoolihan
Toby Jones – Professor Ian Strammi
Jacki Weaver – Miriam Rockwell
James Caan – Colonel Tom Rockwell
Mamie Gummer – Jennifer Rockwell
Aaron Tveit – Tony
Jonathan Majors – Duncan
Out of Order
I have nothing good to say about this film, for very good reason. The entire production was based on a complete lie; the description I read of Carol Morley’s Out of Blue was the following:
When homicide detective Mike Hoolihan (Patricia Clarkson) is called to investigate the murder of a leading astrophysicist in New Orleans, she is confronted by a mystery that begins to affect her in ways she had never expected. As the investigation deepens, a darker world is slowly revealed and she must use all of her skills and experience to piece together fragments of a wider conspiracy that lies behind the murder. OUT OF BLUE is an unmissable neo-noir mystery in which one detective’s quest for truth begins to destabilise both her view of the world and her very being. (Cineworld)
When no-nonsense detective Mike Hoolihan is called to investigate the murder of a renowned astrophysicist, she is pulled into a sequence of events that leave her questioning her whole reality. Inspired by the 1997 novel Night Train, Patricia Clarkson, Jacki Weaver, James Caan and Toby Jones star in this mysterious drama. (Vue)
By god if there is a way of bollocking those who wrote this film’s synopsis – someone please give it to them. They should be pulled up on the fact that the wording they used to put the above together was completely incorrect and missed the mark concerning its content. I have very rarely sat through a film which proves to be the polar opposite of what was sold to me – until Out of Blue, which told the story of a female homicide detective going about trying to solve the murder of an astrophysicist. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but the fact it didn’t contain any of what the synopsis suggested meant this film was actually the most tedious piece of shit I have seen of 2019 so far.
There was no questioning of the lead character’s own reality.
There was certainly no cosmic journey.
Where was the mystique surrounding the astrophysicist’s death?
I was watching Clarkson in a nice leather jacket, swagger through streets and office buildings. Maybe across a bridge at some point.
Sitting in her character’s car having a chat with another character about the issues of a third character. Then sitting quietly at her office desk while a work colleague makes idle smalltalk (note there are no other people around, so this hushed scene is quieter than a library at midnight). Ooh – she is then seen stood in a shooting range, taking part in target practice. Could something exciting be about to happen? (I’m sure you can’t really incorporate celestial events into putting bullets through a rubber dummy, but anything is possible in films these days).
No.
Nothing happened. The scene then moves into the next one where Mike sits in her car again, this time a female character gets in – and they have a chat about the victim of the story..
..I didn’t see the rest of what was happening on screen because I was too busy on my phone. And I didn’t even have any messages. That’s right, idly flicking through my phone – wondering which apps to slide into their own folder – was more entertaining than Out of Blue. An utter, utter waste of my time and a film that I can honestly say I hated every second of.
The perks of the Unlimited card, eh?
A few others had different views:
I physically cannot bring myself to pen anything more about this film. So I will end by stating categorically that if you think Out of Blue is going to be a mystical examination into the fate of its characters, built from an otherworldly story and wrapped in a blanket of stars – don’t. I have never seen anything so incredibly misleading after reading its synopsis. This was a total waste of my time. A tedious piece of writing fronted by an old crone whose face looked as though it was gradually sliding off her head like a piece of overdone fried chicken. None of this crap did the film any favours. And whoever jotted down the synopsis for this film is out of order. Not good.
A dreadful, tiresome feat. Steer clear of this one at all costs.
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