Blue Caprice

Plot

The movie opens with Lee separating from his mother in Antigua. His mother has to leave him at home due to her job requirements. In subsequent days, as a lone teenager, Malvo comes in contact of John. Muhammad is living with his three children - one daughter and two sons. After spending some time together Muhammad and Malvo move to Tacoma, Washington. Muhammad, along with Malvo, starts living there with his girlfriend Angela (Cassandra Freeman). Muhammad starts introducing Malvo as his son. Muhammad subsequently meets his old time friend Ray (Tim Blake Nelson) while going for a jog with Malvo. Ray introduces Malvo to guns. Malvo turns out to be naturally good at marksmanship. One day Muhammad tries to contact his children in Maryland but is unsuccessful due to restraining order. Frustrated by this, Muhammad comes home and has a spat with Angela over some petty issue. Angela subsequently throws both the men out of her house. Muhammad and Malvo move in with Ray and his family. Ray lives with his wife (Joey Lauren Adams) and toddler son. Malvo discovers a cache of arms in Ray's basement. Gradually Muhammad brainwashes an impressionable Malvo into committing murders. Malvo commits his first murder by shooting a neighbor (Maya Woods) point-blank in the head. Muhammad instigates Malvo further to commit more murders in order to pay back the favor of bringing Malvo to US. Malvo commits his next murder by shooting a pub owner (Bruce Kirkpatrick) in back and subsequently robbing him. With the robbed money Muhammad and Malvo buy a Caprice Classic. Muhammad subsequently teaches Malvo to drive. Muhammad also modifies the car trunk so as to make a rectangular slit in the rear which is later used to shoot a sniper rifle from. John Muhammad and Lee Malvo subsequently conduct a siege of terror on the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. They conduct series of random shootings in public places. They use a rifle fired from the trunk of a blue Chevrolet Caprice. One night while they were parked in a no-parking spot, the local police department catches up on them and subsequently the FBI is shown as taking over the investigation. After 5 months, Malvo is lodged in Graymore State Prison, Virginia. He is visited by a female lawyer (Linda Powell) who tries to question him about the motive of all those random killings. Malvo remains stubborn and asks back, "Where is my father?" The movie closes with Aspen Hill City Police escorting Malvo back to the prison cell.

Cast

Distribution and release

After premiering at Sundance, IFC's Sundance Selects acquired domestic distribution rights.

Critical response

Blue Caprice received generally positive reviews from critics. The film has a "certified fresh" score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 77 reviews with an average score of 7.3 out of 10. The critical consensus states "Smart, sobering, and quietly chilling, Blue Caprice uses its horrible true-life story -- and some solid performances -- to underscore the dreadful banality of evil." The film also has a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 25 critics indicating "generally favourable reviews."

Box office

The film was given a Limited release in North America in 36 theaters and grossed $93,995 in its entire run.

Graphic novel

In October 2013, it was announced that publisher Red Giant Entertainment will produce Public Enemies, a graphic novel based on the film. The film's screenwriter, R.F.I. Porto, is set to script the graphic novel.