Director Bob Rafelson ("Five Easy Pieces" 1970, "Postman Always Rings Twice, The" 1981) teamed up once again with Jack Nicholson in the lead, with steady and enduring veterans Michael Caine and Judy Davis, along with a brilliant, faceted performance from Jennifer Lopez, and a gritty, sharp one from Stephen Dorff.
It's a complex thriller drama, one-upmanship at every turn. Who will be the winner and get the goods? This one sure keep you guessing - or, you're so caught up in all the intrigues that you have no time to second guess them.
It's probably a "TORV" (tastier on repeat viewing) - a category I came up with as I realized many a film somehow belongs. I may not immediately appreciate the film on first viewing, yet when I get to see it again, such are the case with Curtis Hanson's "Wonder Boys" 2000, and Ang Lee's "Ice Storm, The" 1997, I actually sat through them with higher interest, and yes, knowing the plot already, I found myself watching the nuances of plotline and acting delivered more closely. "Blood and Wine", on repeat viewing, felt much juicier than I first saw it in the theater.
If you like a dark film noir thriller, one that's for mature audiences (vs. lightweight fanciful intrigue as John McNaughton's "Wild Things" 1998 with Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards), try "Blood and Wine."
There's another worthwhile mature thriller, written and directed by Britain's Simon Moore, "Under Suspicion" 1992, with Liam Neeson (as Tony Aaron, a not so successful cop turned private eye) and Laura San Giacomo (as Angeline, the mysterious mistress of a rich dead man). It's a clever whodunit in a rather subtle way. Possibly keeps you guessing even after you left the theater or finished viewing the film. (Ha, another candidate for TORV.)
["TORV" - copyright 2001 Ruby Liang, ruby_fff]
It's a complex thriller drama, one-upmanship at every turn. Who will be the winner and get the goods? This one sure keep you guessing - or, you're so caught up in all the intrigues that you have no time to second guess them.
It's probably a "TORV" (tastier on repeat viewing) - a category I came up with as I realized many a film somehow belongs. I may not immediately appreciate the film on first viewing, yet when I get to see it again, such are the case with Curtis Hanson's "Wonder Boys" 2000, and Ang Lee's "Ice Storm, The" 1997, I actually sat through them with higher interest, and yes, knowing the plot already, I found myself watching the nuances of plotline and acting delivered more closely. "Blood and Wine", on repeat viewing, felt much juicier than I first saw it in the theater.
If you like a dark film noir thriller, one that's for mature audiences (vs. lightweight fanciful intrigue as John McNaughton's "Wild Things" 1998 with Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards), try "Blood and Wine."
There's another worthwhile mature thriller, written and directed by Britain's Simon Moore, "Under Suspicion" 1992, with Liam Neeson (as Tony Aaron, a not so successful cop turned private eye) and Laura San Giacomo (as Angeline, the mysterious mistress of a rich dead man). It's a clever whodunit in a rather subtle way. Possibly keeps you guessing even after you left the theater or finished viewing the film. (Ha, another candidate for TORV.)
["TORV" - copyright 2001 Ruby Liang, ruby_fff]