To begin with, everything about this movie is strange. The title is difficult to memorise. It comes from a gospel song, released in 1993, but does anyone recognise it? “Oh Lord, You know I have no friend but you/ If Heaven’s not my home, Oh Lord what would I do?/ Angels have taken me to/ Heaven’s open door/ And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore”. Strangely enough this is the kind of movie that will harrow you to the point that you won’t feel at home in the cinema anymore. It is a sweet discomfort, though.
There is this girl, Ruth (a splendid performance by Melanie Lynskey). She works as a nursing assistant, and she is a baby sitter on the side, but she is so bored!… She spends her time drinking beer from the bottle and chasing her neighbours who walk their dogs in her garden. She can’t stand that they don’t clean up their dog poop. One of those days, she meets Tony (the almost unrecognisible and sexed up Elijah Wood). He apologises for the negligence as his dog is not trained. Tony is also weird. He is a combination of a nerd and a ninja fighter. It feels the film is an ordinary comedy. Well, that’s not the case.
The film genre is unclassifiable: it shifts from comedy to drama, then veers to horror and finally turns into a thriller. There is a little bit of romance too. Not even the smart Quentin Tarantino, who worked in a video rental store, would find the right shelf for this movie. He would have to have four copies of it, at least.
Ruth’s days of boredom are about to end. Someone enters her house and robs her computer as well as some silver heirloom from her nanny. In fact, it was just a spoon, but nevermind. She goes to the police. In vain. They won’t move a single cop in search of her possessions. Enough is enough. Ruth incarnates a female version of Agent 86 – from the American comedy TV series Get Smart. The outcome is hilarious and irreversibly innovative. She and Tony pursue a gang only to prove them that people cannot be such assh***s.
Macon Blair’s debut picture – he appears as an actor in Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier, 2013) and Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier, 2015), both of them are considered 21st century cult movies – conquers with its dark tone and captivating characters. The narrative is inventive and the music score is very catchy. It will drive you away from your seat, to a place where imagination and pleasure rules. This is all we ask of a movie, isn’t it?
Blair conquered Netflix: they produced the film and they will release it worldwide on February 24th. Blair also conquered Sundance Festival audience: its second screening was in a midnight session completely sold-out. Blair conquered Sundance Jury: the film was awarded by the Grand Jury Prize: US dramatic. Will it be a unanimously acclaimed? Maybe not. Who cares? I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a very dirty movie indeed.
The good news is you can catch I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore from the comfort of your home from February – the film has been produced by and is soon available on Netflix. Just click here for more information!
