 Thanks for checking out this movie review video This is for the 2018 film a bluebird in my heart and it is a shutter exclusive So some of you familiar with this film maybe like is it a horror film because that's mainly what I do on my channel I wouldn't say it's a horror film per se, but it is streaming on shutter and it is a shutter exclusive So for that reason I'm doing it They have some other stuff that shows up on shutter that isn't necessarily horror But you could make the argument that there's real life horror in this film because there certainly is some of that so It's an in-between or in a sense. This film was directed by Jeremy. Yes, I I'm sure I did not say that correctly. So my apologies. He's done also directed the film brothers by blood It was also written by Diaz who wrote scripts for in the shadow of iris Burnout the night eats the world the bouncer and brothers by blood and it's based on a novel by Danny M. Martin So that is the back story on this one The beginning of the film has an unbelievably Melancholy start to it It's just kind of actually the whole film in general is just steeped in this melancholy feeling Especially in the beginning when you're seeing Clara and she's just kind of she's looking bored She's looking sad. She looks very wayward And I mean her character kind of is that way and actually Danny's is kind of that way at the same time Which is kind of why they're kind of drawn to each other, but I Like that kind of beginning to it And I think the music ends up playing into that a lot because it's a very, you know Nice light melancholy type music to it as well very emotional and in general I think the music in this film is used very well It's not used too much because there are some great moments of silence Where you can really focus on some of the things that are going on that are extremely important to the story But when the music is used, it's very light. It's very emotional. It really plays into the film in general And I love that about it Danny initially comes off in this film as kind of a gruff withdrawn individual Which then ends up making a lot of sense because you find out that he's just been released from jail And that would kind of you know account for this disposition that he has because you know when you're in jail You're not going to be a very open person. You're not going to be a very nice person necessarily You're certainly not going to be very happy And the other thing is you you see throughout the film He kind of still feels like he's confined like he's still in jail basically because he's on parole You know, he has that ankle monitor and he's you know, not in a space where he feels all that trusting with people He's still in that mentality of being confined because he kind of is you know, he seeks out whatever job he can get He's got to make his own way even though he has pretty much nothing, but there's so many Restricting things in his life that are keeping him from just going and living a normal happy life Until the end he kind of you know things do change a little bit, but you know, we'll talk about that a little bit So there is kind of this interesting You know dichotomy between where Claire starts and where Danny starts and then how they end up kind of gravitating to one another because They both have needs in this film, you know Obviously Clara has the need of a father figure because she kind of feels like she's lost her own father to a degree because She's not sure Early on, you know, does her father not want to see her anymore Does her mother not want her to see her father and then she becomes aware that her parents aren't going to be together anymore When her father gets out of jail and that makes her question does he even love me doesn't even want to be with me And obviously in the end, you know, he does still love her but you know, these are the kind of irrational thoughts that Someone's caught in that situation goes through someone in a broken home, especially someone who's young like Clara is and yeah, so That kind of speaks a lot to you know, who she is as a person Clara and Danny both seem so isolated Physically and emotionally which is another reason why they end up being end up gravitating towards each other And I really like that about the film because it you know first it sets up Clara And she's very isolated and it's not just isolated like emotionally and where she lives But every single scene that she's in by herself It's super isolated things look desolate the whole you know cityscape looks very desolate and dingy It's the same thing for Danny when he's alone. It looks the same when they're together It looks the same There's a big big big focus in this film in general on Isolation itself so even when it's not just one character physically isolated it is You know two characters or a few characters still looking like they're very much isolated because of that kind of desolate landscape or cityscape and how dingy and you know kind of Dirty everything looks When whenever Danny takes talks with people. He's very short and he seems kind of Mad which I assume is from the solitude of jail He's very very curt whenever he answers anyone and that's kind of shows not just you know Conditioning from being in jail and being in that mindset, but just also not being all that trusting he kind of you know Since he is a ex-con He needs to kind of stick to himself He doesn't know how people are gonna interact with him How people are gonna feel about him as a person and where he's been and what you know Those people think that says about him So he's walled off because I guess he kind of feels like he doesn't necessarily need to have friends for that reason It could be more trouble than it's worth which you know in the end you can obviously make the argument that yes It it was kind of more trouble than it was worth because he got into trouble again trouble that could end up sending him back to jail Even though Danny's out of jail He's still in that mentality especially because he's confined by the parameters of his parole the prime example of that I know I talked about this But a great example for it is when he was just starting to really loosen up and relax And he started talking to that woman at the restaurant that he was working at It seemed like he was he was starting to like trust someone starting to kind of open up feeling very relaxed starting to have a good time He realizes I have to run home because I have to be home at a certain time because of the parameters of my parole and this you know ankle monitors so Still those confines coming into play The rape scene in this that we end up getting to with Clara that kind of sets up The that moment where you know Danny will feel like he has to take some action and it sends his spiraling Uh out of control I think that rape scene it's hard to watch because it is kind of intense But I also think it was handled relatively well in the sense that it doesn't go on too long It's not too close because it starts very close up and that's what's the toughest part to watch But then when it goes from outside of the car and it's kind of looking through the back windshield That's kind of like you know has condensation on it. So you can't fully see So I think it's effective for getting the point across about what's going on Without you know exploiting it too much So I was happy with that because there are so many rape scenes and films that are just it's too much It's just way too much I knew something bad was going to happen To the drug dealer because of his interest in Clara when he first shows up and it's not just his interest It's a fact that he's very interested in her obviously and she's obviously not interested in him And he even tries to be like I'll give you this weed If you give me a kiss and she goes in doesn't give him the kiss because obviously that's how much she's not interested in him But the fact that they kind of laid that in the very beginning Kind of sets it up for him being brought back later and you already know who he is You already know what he's about basically so good writing it really does you know come together Um It's a bit tough to realize that if Danny had just let Clara Into his room at that one point instead of having to go outside and look at looking through the window Uh, the rape may not have ever occurred now I'm not sure how many viewers actually watch the film and think about that aspect of things But yes had Danny not just let her in Which there is then that question of was he actually in that room? Was he in a different room doing the painting? I took it as the room. She was going up to was the one he was in painting But you can let me know if you think otherwise in the comments because it could be could be different. I don't know Uh, I don't think that it was a good idea for Danny to end up bathing Clara Now i'm sure not just me but probably a lot of other viewers during that scene where he was getting her undressed after she had been raped and was bathing her Um, I was kind of cringing because I was like, oh man if somebody comes in And this could be very easily misconstrued It will be very easily misconstrued because he's an older man. She's young He just got out of jail. Like people will assume the worst especially just because how it looks So I was very worried like it may be very tense when I was watching that part of the film Because obviously you don't want anything bad to happen to Danny because even though he's kind of this walled off gruff not that nice guy You see the inner him like you know that his Intentions are good in the end. It's just the way he goes about things aren't necessarily the way most people would go about things um Danny has uh Oh, sorry. I'm like reading my notes. I'm like it's not makes sense. It does Danny has a drive to fix things in this film. You have to notice that you see it when he's redoing the room in the hotel Also when he's fixing the washing machine at or the dishwasher at the restaurant But then also you see it in a you know more human way where he's trying to fix things For clara being there is kind of like a father figure to a degree being a friend giving her advice And then the tougher thing, you know fixing the issue with the drug dealer I mean his version of fixing the issue, which I believe is kind of reverting back to How he would do things prior to going to jail I think that's a little bit of a glimpse of who he used to be Before going to jail who he ends up revering reverting back to when he gets into these extreme messed up situations like that Um notice that Danny flips his room key when he feels uncomfortable Now this happens at two points within the film The first is when he's getting his ankle monitor put on and all the restrictions for his life are kind of being laid out to him By who I assume is is a parole officer And the other is when clara's mother is kind of questioning about about what happened with clara. She won't talk to me What she assaulted, um, he's doing the key flipping thing So that's how you can tell that he's uncomfortable and I like those types of things when they're rolled into films when they're scripted in Where it's like this little tell that if you can pick it up, uh, you know when that character's feeling a certain way And they're not saying it. They're not being overt about it. It's just this little tick this little thing So I really do like that Um, you really see the internal struggle that Danny ends up going through when he ends up seeing the rapist Slash drug dealer at the restaurant and this kind of speaks to great physical acting by the actor Well, all the actors I think all the actors do an excellent job in this film But particularly the guy played Danny and I just love that struggle You see him going through of like thinking what should I do in this instance? Now obviously he gives into his more base instincts like I was saying tapping into who he was before going to jail and potentially what led him to go to jail in the first place um and But the the the struggle that you see him going through before he gets to that decision is very very powerful and it was You know well pulled off so I like it The use of no music is most powerful in this film when it's when there are the more intense moments Like where Danny tries to calm down Claire's mother after she finds out that he had something to do With the guy who was found dead in his burnt car Um, I think that's great because it it doesn't tell you how to feel let you focus on What's actually going on on screen the noises that are being made the intensity of the struggle and also the fact that you know There's so much that's that's unsure. You know between Claire's mother being unsure about who Danny really is who she thought he was versus who she's now thinking maybe he is And also Danny, you know trying to figure out how he gets through to her that It was good intent there and that Yes, he did this terrible thing, but he wouldn't do anything like that to her and he wouldn't do anything like that to Clara so that in particular is a very powerful scene and it is made more powerful by the fact that there isn't much music to You know grab you by the hand and lead you you can kind of feel it out yourself Which I think a lot of times ends up ends up being more powerful in well-written films like this I do like that they took a lot of time with claire Doing the hiv test when she went and saw Danny when he was washing dishes at the restaurant And I think it was important to do that because that mirrors the kind of Amount of time that claire would actually have to wait in order for the test to be done and the results to come back It really lets you kind of feel the anxiety that she would be feeling at that time of oh my gosh You know, I could have hiv because of this and while I wait here I'm just thinking what if I do you know, what do I do about that and Going down all these roads until it comes back and and you know, Danny's like no you're good You know, you're in the clear so I think that was important that they kind of let that play out in a longer form so that you could also feel that anxiety There is great character development in this as you end up seeing in Danny As he goes from being closed off to being opened up and being able to find the most in his life that he has at that moment But it could also be argued that this development that Danny ends up going through is kind of his undoing At the same time and ends up endangering his life as he's created it at that point Because he could be sent back to jail obviously and since he killed someone he could be there forever. So It's this issue of you know, he he These ties that he finally opened up and created that he was reluctant to at first are the ones that gave him You know a feeling of purpose feeling, you know happy Meaning in life, but then it also led him to You know the the terrible act that he that he did and that that would just take him right back to where he was in jail Uh, and I said wow a scene in a film where people run out of bullets that rarely ever happens Usually with scenes with people shooting at each other the bullets are endless There's no such thing as an actual chamber or not as a chamber as an actual cartridge of bullets It's just endless bullets. So I thought it was good then in this film It was very realistic and that they ran out of bullets But also that those guys kind of that Danny and the other guy chasing him Ran out of bullets at about the same time So they had to run for the gun that had bullets and it just made it way more intense. So I like that scene I think the metaphor for Clara finally being able to pet the stray dog has to do with her taking her wild impulses and thoughts and taming them So make having them subside Overcoming them. So I'm talking about what her wild impulses and thoughts such as Turning to drugs acting out things like that and then also things like thinking that her father doesn't love her anymore When he obviously does like you find out at the end and it also just kind of It shows her approach to life, you know, initially she Sees the stray dog and her and she wants to pet the dog So what does she do? She runs at it. Well, if you think, you know, there's no way that a stray dog that doesn't know This person is going to be fine with that He's going to view it as an aggressive move and he's going to run away And that's kind of how she was with her life is she was going at things in life and the problems in her life In an aggressive manner. She's running at them. She's doing drugs. She's yelling at her mom She's just making the assumption that her parents don't well at least her father doesn't love her that her life is falling apart, you know, it's Then by the end of the film she realizes no, you know, this isn't what you do and she she waits there She's patient and then the dog comes to her learning that if you're if you have patients if you think things through if you approach life from a more docile and informed position That dog that stray dog will come to you so Directing and cinematography in this looks great. It looks really really really good There are a lot of really interesting looking shots in this as well And that kind of helps with when there are times where, you know, some people might say it's a little bit drawn out Or it's feeling like it's, you know dragging a little bit It doesn't really feel that way because it just looks so good At least that's how I experience film, you know, if it if it is slow But the cinematography and the directing is and the acting is so good I'm I'm down also sound design with this. That's another thing that becomes very apparent. So, yeah There's a good amount of time with no music like I talked about and that ends up really pointing To those moments of really good sound design, which, you know, obviously sound design in general for the film is really good But it becomes more clear When there isn't music playing There's so much isolation in the film that even when it's not just one character alone It's usually two characters alone and the settings are always desolate and dingy You really do I want to nail that home because I think that that's also supposed to be a little bit of a Environmental representation of what's going on within Clara and within Danny at that time They're they're both very kind of desolate emotionally Obviously Danny because he doesn't really know what his life is supposed to be and because he just got out of jail And Clara because her life is going through all sorts of turmoil and she doesn't know how to deal with it Uh, Clara in the end. This is my final thought Clara is searching for a father figure since she's lost hers Basically and or she thinks and Danny finds purpose in filling that void for her It's a relationship built out of emotional necessity for the both of them And I think that's one of the reasons that this film ends up being so beautiful Is because it is these two characters in need that you realize are good people at their core Even though they do things and say things that people wouldn't construe that way And they you know gravitate to each other. They find each other and they fill those voids Within the lives because it's not just Danny filling the void of a father figure for Clara It's Clara filling the void for Danny of needing a purpose in life You know, he doesn't he feels kind of rudderless. He feels purposeless And he's like, you know, what am I gonna do now until he has her to kind of give advice to to look out for And then she kind of becomes like a child to him in a way And that becomes a reason to live a reason to have drive a reason to do things So they compliment each other in that way and give each other purpose So great film obviously looks good great acting Great script all that good jazz. So Out of five stars with half stars in play. I'm going to give it a very solid four star rating I think it's quite nice and one of the better shutter originals slash exclusives on shutter at the moment So, yeah, I think should be recommending more people see it But anyway, I would be be very very interested to hear what everyone else has to say about it Put it down in the comments. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Are you in between? 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