Blue Steel
Not to be confused with Derek Zoolander’s showstopping expression of the same name, Blue Steel is Katheryn Bigelow’s third feature film. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis as rookie cop Megan Turner, who kills an armed robber on her first day on the job. A witness, wall street trader Eugene Hunt, becomes increasingly infatuated by her and slowly manipulates and gaslights himself into her life, throwing it into chaos.
I went in to this one with pretty low hopes. It is tied for Bigelow’s lowest rated film on IMDB. However, it completely shattered my expectations and I really enjoyed this. The tension transferred straight from the screen to my stomach as certain events transpired.
The best word I could use to describe this film is dread. As the film goes on, the actions of Hunt become more and more deranged. Watching it unfold felt like a slow motion train wreck as Megan slowly gets closer to uncovering the truth behind his real intentions and motives.
As Hunt becomes more and more entangled in her life – befriending her parents, taking her on extravagant dates, stalking her throughout the city – he also develops a habit of killing people. He carves Megan’s name onto the bullet he uses to gun down a man in the street, causing turmoil in her work life. These mind games only get more personal and bizarre from here.
This felt like a mix of Scorsese’s Cape Fear and Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct. A sense of unease grew as the film went on and refused to let go of you.
There is a point where the film teeters on taking things too far – Hunt becoming too psychotic and it almost becoming too hard to watch, Bigelow trying to get the audience to squirm in their seats.
This was a very well made film. The acting, writing, and directing were all on point here – working together to form a well structured thriller that keeps you engaged, enthralled, and entertained throughout.
Bigelow Ranked:
No surprise, I liked this one a lot.
- Blue Steel
- Near Dark
- The Loveless
Next week – one of my all time favorite films that I’ve seen many many times – 1991’s surfer heist Point Break. I couldn’t be more excited to watch again.
