Leofwine_draca BLOOD is the film version of a lengthy BBC miniseries called CONVICTION, in which a pair of detective brothers struggle to cope with the demands of the job while caring for their father who's suffering from dementia. When a young girl is found brutally murdered in the local skate park, her death drives the men over the edge.Wow, this is one of the darkest movies I've seen in a while. It's almost wrist-slittingly grim, with a cast populated by the mentally ill, perverts, and psychopaths. The film was shot in the Wirral and looks dark and grim throughout, with the only colour that stands out blood red. Depressing scene follows depressing scene, until the final nihilistic climax.Despite the downbeat nature of the production, this is highly watchable thanks to the talents of a fine cast. Paul Bettany excels as the volatile lead, with Stephen Graham giving a typically assured turn as his stressed-out brother. Brian Cox still shines even in his later years as the elder struggling with memory loss. There are even roles for former comedian Adrian Edmondson and Ben Crompton, best known for his role as one of the Night's Watch in GAME OF THRONES. And I can't say out pleased I am to see Mark Strong NOT typecast as a villain.The plot is a simple one and yet there's so much incident packed into the scant running time that it ends up being very fast paced with barely room to go out of the room and make a cup of tea. I'm glad it has a short running time too; I'm not sure I would have wanted to sit through hours and hours of this grim story. A British Scandi-noir type thriller, BLOOD deserves plaudits for the work of its cast alone.

John Raymond Peterson The movie is pegged as a thriller but I prefer calling it a psychological drama with thriller features. As the storyline would have you think, the premise lends itself to a variety of ways it could have gone, however the best one was the psychological thriller and that is what most viewers would like hope to see when selecting this movie.I recognize the film did not go over so well with critics and they are entitled to their say; well they're paid for it anyway. Sadly, the audience also did not trip to the overall production and I, well I'm usually easy going, am on the fence with that one. Cops, brothers to boot, investigating a crime they themselves have committed entails possible clichés we are likely not thrilled to watch, but director Nick Murphy (and Bill Gallagher the writer) have managed to avoid those to my satisfaction. I'm a fan of Mark Strong and though he delivered a solid performance, his character did not really have a major part, not as much as I was hoping for. Brian Cox, who played the retired cop and father to the brothers, was excellent in his role, as anyone familiar with him would expect.The movie starts off with a crime scene and introduces us to Joe and Chrissie Fairburn, played respectively by Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham, the brothers. We get a glimpse of the intense personality of Bettany's character at that moment. The movie will then progressively and methodically immerse us in Joe Faiburn's hell, the demons he struggles with and despite that he is what one could call a good guy, the journey into his unravelling. On that basis, I would have felt stronger about endorsing the movie, but alas, I cannot; not that Bettany does not perform his little heart out, and he is an actor who can deliver such, but I know more viewers may well be disappointed with the direction the story goes and ends, so I won't.I chose to watch this movie because I was curious to see what sort of actor Stephen Graham was; I knew him solely from his role as Al Capone in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. I was impressed by his performances in the series and now that I've seen him in a motion picture, I will consider any future film in which he'll be playing more than a third casted role.

alan-taylor77 Blood deserves better than other reviewers have suggested. It is a small movie yes but it is intense and filled with first-rate performances from an excellent cast. Bettany especially is on great form, but then he usually is, as a man falling apart. You believe these characters, understand their motivations and emotions, even as you watch them get closer to the edge. We may have seen many of the cast in bigger productions but there is no sense that they are slumming it and even the smaller roles are played in an incredibly realistic way. It reminded me of some of the best noir movies in the way the plot is driven by the characters' reactions to one fateful action and the way the claustrophobia mounts as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened. Recommended.

Lt. Vincent Hanna Great cast, promising story - but ultimately disappointing.It did not surprise me to learn that this film was based on a TV series. Over much of the running time I found myself distracted by just how busy the story was. It was one plot point after another, after another, with no space in-between to let the characters (or audience) absorb each of the many developments before proceeding - or to establish a strong sense of mood or location. It seemed as though the makers had condensed into a feature film length a story that was intended to be told over a much longer duration - as though an emotionally balanced story had been harshly edited, leaving just a collection of 'flashpoints.' With a cast and story this good, Blood could have achieved something as atmospheric and dramatic as Mystic River. Unfortunately though, it felt like one of those British TV crime dramas in which they have to introduce characters, portray a crime, investigate the crime (uncovering a series of disturbing family secrets and dispensing with a couple of red herrings in the process) and arrive at a harrowing (but ultimately just) conclusion, all within the span of a single episode.An enjoyable, but not especially memorable, film.