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Blood Work

Blood Work on DVD

Now and then, it’s nice to see an A-list Hollywood icon taking a role that’s appropriate for his age, rather than some of the older and more decrepit actors trying to pull off the sexy action hero well into their 70s.

Clint Eastwood plays Terry McCaleb, an aging FBI detective on the trail of a serial killer. But when the case turns into a foot chase, he collapses from a heart attack and requires a transplant to stay alive. Shortly after being released from the hospital, McCaleb is approached by a woman claiming to be the sister of the woman from whom Terry received his new heart. She asks him to try and find out who killed her sister, stating: “You’re alive because she’s dead. It’s the least you can do.”

So McCaleb becomes a private investigator and shows the local cops a thing or two about solving murder cases. As the plot unfolds, we learn that the killer is the same man McCaleb was chasing when he had his heart attack.

It’s a typical whodunit thriller, but the writing is much better than usual. The details that lead McCaleb to the killer are not nearly as hard to believe as the average murder mystery, and it’s nice to have a hero who isn't invincible, but who can still triumph in the end. Eastwood speaks in his usual gruff, unenthusiastic tone, but it works. Clearly though, he’s a much better director than actor.

Blood Work may not be anything particularly new, but it does deliver where many similar movies have failed. In fact, it may be the best whodunit since L.A. Confidential (which was, interestingly enough, also penned by Brian Helgeland). The skilled writing and direction, and a fabulous performance by Jeff Daniels all add to the believability and intrigue. It’s well worth checking out for fans of the genre, or anyone wanting to see an example of how these movies should be done.

Unfortunately, despite how good the movie is, it performed less like Eastwood’s more successful films (such as Unforgiven) and more like his much less successful films (such as Absolute Power). Still, the DVD provided by Warner Bros. is not bad, considering.

The video is presented in separate widescreen and "full screen" (read "Pan&Scan") versions (why are studios doing them separately now?), and the picture quality is quite impressive. For the most part it’s very clear, but now and then it’s a tiny bit grainy. This is not a big deal, since it gives it more of a classic whodunit feel, and the overall quality makes up for it. The audio track (5.1 Dolby Digital) is pretty good, but as always, more surround use would have been nice. Granted, there are not plenty of opportunities for massive surround use, but a few occasions would call for such, yet they’re still fairly limited. Now and then you can hear a few sound effects crackling out of the rear (insert joke here), but nothing spectacular.

Extras on the disc include a making-of featurette that includes the typical cast and crew interviews, and “A Conversation in Spanish with Clint Eastwood, Wanda de Jesus and Paul Rodriguez” (with English subtitles). Neither are overly lengthy or interesting, but the movie deserves some extras and here they are.

Overall, a nice presentation for a very deserving film.

Blood Work, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
110 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16x9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Wanda de Jesus, and Anjelica Huston
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland
Produced and directed by Clint Eastwood

 

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Updated May 13, 2006