2017 Films: #25. I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

I watched this Netflix original film on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix on October 24th. This is a film that kept showing up in my "Suggestions for You" category on Netflix. I watched the trailer and the film looked interesting. I put the film in my and a few months later I got around to watching it. The picture is written and directed by Macon Blair. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and put into wide release by Netflix on February 24th.

The film stars the crazy neighbor from Two and a Half Men as Ruth, a single woman with a mundane job and a relatively unfulfilling life. One day she comes home from work to find her home has been broken into and some personal items stolen. Her feelings of violation turn to helplessness as she feels the police will do nothing to help, which they pretty much don't. Ruth decides to take matters in her own hands and starts questioning neighbors. During this time she runs into Tony (Elijah Wood) a heavy metal, martial arts aficionado who decides to help Ruth in her investigation.

Ruth and Tony actually begin to get results in the investigation. Ruth and Tony even locate the stolen laptop and manage to get the location of the fence. Ruth gets more and more empowered along the way. They even manage to discover the identity of the burglar and confront his parents. I do not wish to giveaway too much so let's just say that Ruth start to get a little more than she bargained for and eventually people die.

The film received an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is very nicely done. The pace sometimes slows down too much and it would have been better served to have a run time closer to 95 minutes than 107 minutes in my opinion. The actors did a real nice job of making the characters interesting. Ruth's arc takes her from a bit player in her own life to the driver's seat, which at times can be scary as she finds out the hard way. The interesting thing to see would be how Ruth lives her life after all of the events of the film. Does she go back to her mundane life or try to do something different? My problems with the film lean toward the legal issues Ruth would have after everything goes down. It didn't seem based in reality to me. But in the celluloid world, who cares about that stuff anyway,

This a good start for first time director Blair. It may not be for everyone but it is a nice change of pace and worth watching.