Macon Blair Delivers a Strong Directorial Debut with ‘I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.’

Macon Blair has made a name for himself as an actor in the films of Jeremy Saulnier. Whether as the lead of Blue Ruin or the sympathetic white supremacist in Green Room, Blair delivers these quiet, powerful performances in Saulnier’s violent cinematic deconstructions. Now Macon Blair is trying his hand behind the camera as the writer-director of his directorial debut I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. While examining the futility of vengeance, I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. crafts a fantastic character study of woman trying to track down the perpetrators of a burglary at her home in a world full of colorful eccentrics. Don’t expect Macon Blair to attempt to emulate the style of Jeremy Saulnier, as the actor turned director instead crafts a unique movie with its own offbeat personality.

Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) is a nurse’s assistant who lives a quiet little life. In her free time she’s reading a fantasy saga of novels while enjoying a drink at her local bar. One day, she comes home to discover that her home has been burglarized. A feeling of violation permeates her thoughts as the notion of some creep rummaging through her belongings leaves her unsettled. The police file a report and do little else to track down the computer and silverware that were stolen from her. While canvasing the neighborhood asking for clues, Ruth encounters Tony (Elijah Wood), a local eccentric whom Ruth had a confrontation with over dog poop in her yard. Tony joins Ruth as she is able to find the location of her computer and the unlikely duo form a bond as they try to unravel the mystery of who broke into her home. As they search, Christian (Devon Graye), the culprit, and his cohorts Marshall (David Yow) and Dez (Jane Levy) plan their next score and the two groups of people are on a violent collision course.

As should be expected, Melanie Lynskey delivers a fantastic performance in I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. Lynskey finds that balance between uneasy from the crime committed against her without being weak. Macon Blair and Melanie Lynskey have crafted a character that is strong and daring yet not simply confined operating out of fear. Meanwhile, Elijah Wood seems to be having a blast as the eccentric Tony. Wood wears oversized aviators and has a rat tail dangling from the back of his head and the character’s affinity for martial arts weaponry is another layer of endearing absurdity. Lynskey and Wood are just two offbeat characters that are front and center in I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. and most of the other characters that float in and out of the film’s action are just oddly likable with distinct personalities.

What’s most impressive about Macon Blair’s directorial debut is the way that he plays against the expectations of the audience. Along with cinematographer Larkin Seiple, Blair makes fantastic use of space and employs the entire frame to tell his story visually. Sometimes Blair is delivering visual information to misdirect the audience. He draws your attention in one direction only to come and level you with a surprise that you didn’t see coming. It ensures that I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. is full of surprises, some of which are deviously delightful.

I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. is an assured directorial debut from Macon Blair, a strong movie that doesn’t always unfold as expected. Blair may not employ cutthroat tension like his frequent collaborator Jeremy Saulnier, but Blair does share the same effective use of violence that you might find in a Saulnier film. Every moment of violence comes as a shock and each is effective in twisting the audience’s expectations of what will happen next. Macon Blair had already proven himself as an actor and now he’s proven himself as a writer-director. Whatever comes next for Macon Blair after I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. will be eagerly anticipated because this is one deviously fun piece of cinema.

I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. debuts exclusively on Netflix on Friday, February 24th, 2017.