Blood Ties

Dir: Guillaume Canet

2013

***

Guillaume Canet's remake of French thriller Les liens du sang by Jacques Maillot, an adaptation of the French novel Deux frères: flic & truand by Bruno and Michel Papet, is a fairly standard affair but its low mood, slow-burn development and smooth direction appealed greatly. The performances are strong too, it just doesn't quite reach what I believe it sets out to achieve. Guillaume Canet was actually one of the main stars in the original and wrote and directed the film with Jacques Maillot's blessing. It's clearly an important film to the actor/writer/director and his depiction of 1970s New York is great, it looks just as good if not better than his previous films but after Tell No One and Little White Lies I was expecting something a little more punchy. The film starts with the release of Chris (played by Clive Owen) from prison after spending several years in prison after he murdered a known killer during the rape of a friend. His brother Frank (played by Billy Crudup, the role Guillaume Canet played in the original) meets him reluctantly, not only because of their volatile relationship, but also because Frank is a cop with a bright future in the force. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon (played by James Caan who really binds the film together), who raised them alone, seems to favour Chris despite all his troubles. Yet blood ties are the ones that bind, and Frank, hoping that his brother has changed, is willing to give him a chance but old habits die hard. Clive Owen is fairly edgy and does his Robert Mitchum best - Mark Wahlberg was originally cast in the lead role but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, Alfonso Cuarón convinced Clive Owen to read the film's script and Cuarón is thanked in the credits because of it. Billy Crudup looks more like a 70s cop caricature than a real person but he's enjoyable to watch. Matthias Schoenaerts was cast after starring opposite Marion Cotillard (Guillaume Canet's partner) in Rust and Bone (2012). Canet has said that he chose Schoenaerts after hearing Cotillard praising his acting several times, he's perfect in his likable-criminal role and Marion Cotillard awesome in her poisonous ex-wife performance. Mila Kunis is okay but a little lost and a bit miscast if you ask me, it's not her fault, there just isn't really anything there for her to get her teeth into. James Caan is by far the most believable character but I did love Noah Emmerich's Lieutenant Connellan and Griffin Dunne's little cameo, both looked authentic and as if they really had just walked over from a real 70s cop movie. It was a huge flop, not only because it had little marketing but also because it brought nothing new to the genre and certainly nothing exciting. It's entertaining enough, with strong performances, it's just nothing special and largely forgettable.