I have never ever given a movie a 10/10, but after having seen this harrowing true story, I just had to! "Out of the Blue" is actually very close to a documentary, as some of those that were involved in the real event, had their say in the dramatized version of the worst event in their lives.
As the team, behind and in front of the camera, got so close to the survivors, and their stories, they got very emotionally engaged, which made the movie ring totally true, from beginning to end.
Karl Urban plays one of the police officers involved with such a lot of emotions, that he found it sometimes hard to sleep in his hotel room, between the takes, because of nightmares about the scenes they had been recording previously (The extra material on the DVD is also superb, containing some interviews with those involved, the crew and the actors, plus quite a lot of live coverage from the actual event, both amateur and professional).
The actors are a mix of seasoned pros, not so seasoned, and amateurs, and it works just great - amazingly well.
Matthew Sunderland, playing the guy who goes on a murdering spree for no obvious reason, does so totally convincing, very scary and feels totally genuine! The first police officer arriving, Stu Guthrie, does so armed with just his service revolver, knowing he is pitted against a man with at least a semi-automatic assault rifle (the guy have a lot more arms, pistols, and heaps of ammo, in his fridge), and eventually have to pay the price for doing his best, with the resources he has available.
William Kircher, who plays Guthrie, does it so well, that you really can believe that he is a professional policeman.
All the actors, from Timothy Bartlett to Tandy Wright, do their very best in this moving movie, which in itself is a bit unusual, but this is an unusual film.
This was the director (Robert Sarkies) second movie, and really can't be improved in any way, but the DVD can, as in the extra material, which is equally well done, there are no names, or titles, on the people interviewed, which is a pity.
As the team, behind and in front of the camera, got so close to the survivors, and their stories, they got very emotionally engaged, which made the movie ring totally true, from beginning to end.
Karl Urban plays one of the police officers involved with such a lot of emotions, that he found it sometimes hard to sleep in his hotel room, between the takes, because of nightmares about the scenes they had been recording previously (The extra material on the DVD is also superb, containing some interviews with those involved, the crew and the actors, plus quite a lot of live coverage from the actual event, both amateur and professional).
The actors are a mix of seasoned pros, not so seasoned, and amateurs, and it works just great - amazingly well.
Matthew Sunderland, playing the guy who goes on a murdering spree for no obvious reason, does so totally convincing, very scary and feels totally genuine! The first police officer arriving, Stu Guthrie, does so armed with just his service revolver, knowing he is pitted against a man with at least a semi-automatic assault rifle (the guy have a lot more arms, pistols, and heaps of ammo, in his fridge), and eventually have to pay the price for doing his best, with the resources he has available.
William Kircher, who plays Guthrie, does it so well, that you really can believe that he is a professional policeman.
All the actors, from Timothy Bartlett to Tandy Wright, do their very best in this moving movie, which in itself is a bit unusual, but this is an unusual film.
This was the director (Robert Sarkies) second movie, and really can't be improved in any way, but the DVD can, as in the extra material, which is equally well done, there are no names, or titles, on the people interviewed, which is a pity.