Some films were made for TV. Directed by Nick Murphy (The
Awakening), Blood stars Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham as police officers
struggling to maintain their sense of morality while investigating a ghastly
murder case. The cast is starrier than your typical Sunday night drama series,
with Brian Cox lending extra weight to the role of Joe and Chrissie’s father, portraying ex-policeman Lenny.
A young girl is discovered murdered, and local convicted
paedophile Jason Buleigh (Ben Crompton) is the likeliest of suspects. Things
get out of control when Joe and Chrissie take matters into their own hands,
threatening to destroy everything and everyone they care about. Stephen Graham
(Boardwalk Empire, Snatch) is outstanding as always, and Mark Strong makes his
presence felt in a much smaller role, but nothing deters from the fact that
Blood is based on Bill Gallagher’s 2004 TV series Conviction.
It’s a tidy little thriller that would have fared better as a
two-part television adaptation, rather than a low-key, unexceptional movie
release. The cast are on hand to elevate matters but there’s nothing else that
makes it stand out from the crowd. The plot is fairly predictable, the visuals
are moody and the characters are all too familiar. A strong cast will get you
so far but Blood should have stayed on the small screen where it belongs.
Wounded. AW
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