Woodstock Film Festival Review: "Blow the Horn"
After a lengthy hiatus, director Nacho Arenas returns to features with his latest film, “Blow the Horn.” Arenas also wrote the screenplay, adapting Matías Del Federico’s play “Bajo Terapia.”
It’s Saturday in Brooklyn, and three couples unexpectedly arrive at an artist’s studio in Red Hook expecting individual therapy sessions.
The couples are attorney Paula (Tracee Ellis Ross) and her CPA husband Chris (Ken Leung); architect Emily (Lake Bell) and her longtime boyfriend Richard (Joshua Boone); and Robert (Dallas Roberts), a GPS salesman, and his kindergarten-teacher wife Beth (Wrenn Schmidt).
They quickly learn that their therapist, Melina, has no intention of joining them. Instead, she has left a letter and envelopes with instructions designed to force honesty. Once the truths start coming out, everyone learns that sometimes silence really is golden.
I often tell people that while I’ve been married for eighteen years, I’m still learning how to be a husband. As the adage goes, “conversation rules the nation.” That mindset made “Blow the Horn” immediately intriguing. From the outset, it’s obvious the material originated onstage. Arenas wisely introduces the couples slowly, giving us time to understand their dynamics before the pressure starts building.
The dialogue drives the film, and once the secrets begin surfacing, “Blow the Horn” becomes an effective chamber piece where the confined setting heightens the tension.
I also appreciated that Arenas never reduces the interracial relationships to race once things get heated. Instead, he focuses on something universal: marriage and long-term relationships are hard no matter your background.
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you know I believe comedians often make strong dramatic actors. Tracee Ellis Ross first caught my attention on “The Lyricist Lounge Show,” then broke out with “Girlfriends” and later “black-ish.” Recently, she’s been firmly in her dramatic bag, and Arenas gets another strong performance from her here.
Lake Bell was my second-favorite performance among the women, particularly when she gets to dig into a monologue. I wasn’t familiar with Wrenn Schmidt before this film, but she impressed me as Beth. For much of the story, Beth feels like a wife who has learned to be seen and not heard. Schmidt plays that restraint well, making her eventual reveal feel earned instead of manufactured.
Ken Leung brings his usual quiet focus to Chris. During one of his biggest third-act moments, he could have leaned into melodrama, but his subtlety elevates the monologue. Dallas Roberts gives Robert the energy of a judgmental, self-appointed alpha male who desperately needs to be humbled.
I was most impressed with Joshua Boone. I hoped he would break out after 2022’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” and while that mainstream breakout hasn’t happened yet, Richard gives Boone the chance to move through multiple emotional layers and remind audiences of his talent.
“Blow the Horn” is currently on the festival circuit, and I hope it finds an audience. Its stage roots occasionally show, but Arenas trusts his cast, his dialogue, and the uncomfortable truths that surface when couples finally start talking.
We deserve more films from Nacho Arenas.
Final Grade: B+
