Red White & Blue: One fact to destroy three lives

Sometimes there are simple occurrences which can shape entire destinies. It is hard to believe that the introduction of a single fact into one’s life can cause a spiral into an unforeseen direction, like a butterfly effect which cannot be predicted. Red White & Blue, the 2010 film directed by Simon Rumley, documents this sort of change of a single fact to unleash an untoward story which creates a ripple effect to drastically change the lives of the characters who are involved.

Erica is a slacker who is willing to jump into bed with any man that will have her. Unfortunate instances in her past have left her scarred and numb as she goes through life with no focus apart from having sex with a man only once, never falling in love and staying away from friendships. In this mix, she gets into bed with Franki, a wannabe rock star who is facing emotional turmoil as he helps his mother recover from her cancer while also trying to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend. Erica is forced into getting a job when her landlady demands rent but finds a friend and confidant in Nate, an ex-army veteran from the Iraq war, who has recently moved into the building. As Erica begins to learn how to trust with Nate at her side, Franki steps back into her life with some disturbing news which will adversely affect Erica, Franki and Nate.

The film tends to move slowly but unleashes a long, arduous story along the way. Beginning as a drama and then slowly moving into a thriller with instances of gore as the plot spins on its heels, the film has a unique treatment of its own. The drama is underplayed and many-a-times subtle clues in the story can be missed. It is crafted in a way that every shot of the film can convey a point which is important to the story. However, the film begins as slacker-based drama which has the potential to become a classic before it completely changes into a revenge plot which can be a little hard to follow and digest.

The style of the film borders between amateur and independent which is evident with the minimalistic makeup, bare use of background scoring and ambient sound recordings in certain outdoor scenes. There are plenty of points to be made in this film, and with a different execution it might have made those points more clearly.