Our take
This is the follow-up film by the director of the (also) excellent and intense Blue Ruin. Like that film, Green Room often subverts genre expectations. The basic premise: a lefty punk band winds up taking a show at a skinhead club because they are desperate for cash. The show goes well, but afterward the band accidentally witnesses something they shouldn’t have and are trapped in the club’s green room. This film is brutal and intense, especially because you actually care about what happens to the characters. Bonus: Sir Patrick Stewart plays the leader of the skinhead organization, and gives a subtle yet effectively sinister performance. While some truly horrific acts of violence occur (especially in the back-half of the film) they really do serve the story. Still, there are a handful of scenes that may require more sensitive viewers to cover their eyes. You have been warned.
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
Sundance
1 nom
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
The story
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing an act of violence at a skinhead bar.
Elsewhere
"It's all put together with great skill, but never quite manages to deliver more than its modest, stripped-back story will allow."
— David Jenkins
""Green Room" may be too schematic to fully capture the essence of its characters' groddy milieu, but it's also economically paced, and gorgeous."
— Simon Abrams
Who picked it
Tara Goe is a contributing writer at A Good Movie to Watch, reviewing films and shows across the major streaming services. Her work helps readers find overlooked titles worth their time.
A struggling punk band is on tour and after one gig falls through, they are booked to play a venue in a remote area. They quickly realise they are Playing in a neo-nazi venue. While the brazen band initially taunts the neo-Nazi’s during their set, the movie quickly turns to a tense stand off after they walk in on a murder, and then a desperate fight for survival as the band are trapped in the green room of the venue.