Wondering why I'd never heard of this remake of the 2004 BBC television mini series Conviction, despite its obviously talented and well - known cast, realisation soon dawned on me, less than half - way through its mercifully brief running time of 92 minutes. Simultaneously a wave of relief washed over me, knowing that at least I wasn't sentenced to survive the 6 hour original show.
Blood is an extremely predictable, cliche - ridden, quite depressing melodrama. The title of this plodding so - called thriller refers I suppose, to both the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl, whose body is discovered in the movie's opening minutes and to the relationship between the two cop brothers responsible for the subsequent investigation and their dad, a retired police inspector now afflicted with dementia.
Focusing little on either the victim or the police procedures involved, the brother officers played well, by Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham soon feel they have their perpetrator. However they are less than enthused when informed by the police prosecutor, that their case is lacking in hard evidence. Their father (a convincing turn from Brian Cox) was well known back in the day for supposedly securing convictions through an ample use of physical force. Joe and Chrissie are soon wondering whether they should follow suit, especially Bettany's edgy, quick to anger, Joe.
The main problem with the movie is that there a just no surprises in the narrative. We've seen this sort of dreary stuff plenty of times before, with angry cops, close to losing the plot, treading a fine line between the right and wrong sides of the law. There are too many sequences of officers getting drunk and arguing with various family members. The performances are all strong (Mark Strong is always welcome), but this bleak thriller about morality and guilt suffers from a muddled plot that lacks context for the troubled behaviour of its characters. The result will leave viewers colder than the windswept coastal landscapes, which are the primary external locations.
Blood is an extremely predictable, cliche - ridden, quite depressing melodrama. The title of this plodding so - called thriller refers I suppose, to both the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl, whose body is discovered in the movie's opening minutes and to the relationship between the two cop brothers responsible for the subsequent investigation and their dad, a retired police inspector now afflicted with dementia.
Focusing little on either the victim or the police procedures involved, the brother officers played well, by Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham soon feel they have their perpetrator. However they are less than enthused when informed by the police prosecutor, that their case is lacking in hard evidence. Their father (a convincing turn from Brian Cox) was well known back in the day for supposedly securing convictions through an ample use of physical force. Joe and Chrissie are soon wondering whether they should follow suit, especially Bettany's edgy, quick to anger, Joe.
The main problem with the movie is that there a just no surprises in the narrative. We've seen this sort of dreary stuff plenty of times before, with angry cops, close to losing the plot, treading a fine line between the right and wrong sides of the law. There are too many sequences of officers getting drunk and arguing with various family members. The performances are all strong (Mark Strong is always welcome), but this bleak thriller about morality and guilt suffers from a muddled plot that lacks context for the troubled behaviour of its characters. The result will leave viewers colder than the windswept coastal landscapes, which are the primary external locations.