Blue Iguana (film)

Blue Iguana is a 2018 British romantic comedy thriller film written and directed by Hadi Hajaig. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Phoebe Fox, Ben Schwartz, Peter Ferdinando, Simon Callow, Al Weaver, Robin Hellier, and Frances Barber.

Blue Iguana
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHadi Hajaig
Produced by
  • Hadi Hajaig
  • Tom Lassally
Written byHadi Hajaig
Starring
Music bySimon Lambros
CinematographyIan Howes
Edited by
  • Pierre Haberer
  • Hadi Hajaig
Production
company
UK Film Studio Productions
Distributed byScreen Media Films
Release date
  • August 24, 2018 (2018-08-24) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film was released theatrically in the United States on 24 August 2018.[2]

Synopsis

Eddie (Sam Rockwell) and Paul (Ben Schwartz) are a couple of low-level petty criminals, who are working out their parole in a New York diner. Enter British lawyer Katherine (Phoebe Fox), who offers them ready cash to come to London and intercept a valuable package in transit. The duo arrives in London, team up with their British confederate Tommy Tresham (Al Weaver) and snatch the bag in the main hall of London's Natural History Museum. This puts them on the wrong side of psychotic local villain Deacon Bradshaw (Peter Ferdinando) and his boss Arkardy (Peter Polycarpou). They learn that Arkady and Bradshaw are planning to steal a fabulous gem called the Blue Iguana and decide to stake out Bradshaw's pub in a bid to nab the gem for themselves.

Cast

Production

Hajaig has stated that the film is his homage to American indie movies of the 1980s:

"I wanted to make something with a playful spirit, a film that was fun with a left of field romance that avoided formal conventions, that moved and was resolved in progressively sillier and stranger ways - something with the same fun vibe as the films I watched in the late 1980s on VHS. Movies like the Jonathan Demme gem Something Wild, Jim McBride’s version of Breathless, and the Alec Baldwin film Miami Blues. All happen to be some of the most memorable movies of my youth. These were the films I first picked up and loved in the late 80s. They were different, funny, quirky and they didn't take themselves too seriously but most importantly they didn’t confine themselves to genre rules. They were wilfully and consciously haphazard and I loved them for it. So playing with genre conventions is key in BLUE IGUANA, playing with standard plot progression, who is the protagonist, is it Katherine or Eddie and what defined genre is this, if any? Then I had a blast with recurring themes of maleness, emasculation, which I hope are comedic. "[3]

The film was shot in London. One large sequence was shot in the main hall of London's Natural History Museum. The 35mm format 4k Arriflex Amira camera was chosen, as its adaptability served the indie look the filmmakers strove to achieve. Director of photography Ian Howes worked to ensure the film maintained a filmic and analogue styling to reference American indie films of the 1980s.[3]

Londoner Peter Ferdinando maintained Deacon Bradshaw's South Yorkshire accent on and off the set throughout the entire shoot.[3] Sam Rockwell's attempt at a Cockney accent is a key running gag.[3]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critics approval rating of 37% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10.[4]

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References
  1. "BLUE IGUANA (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. Lambe, Stacy (24 July 2018). "'Blue Iguana' Trailer: Sam Rockwell and Ben Schwartz Get Caught Up in New Comedy Heist (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. CBS Television Distribution. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  3. Tunney, Tom (14 August 2018). "My interview with Blue Iguana director, Hadi Hajaig". Dino Laine sings in Blue Iguana. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. "Blue Iguana (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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