Clint Eastwood makes a return to form as a director with the absorbing crime thriller, Blood Work. Based on a novel by Michael Connelly, with a script from Brian Helgeland (who knows a thing or two about crime thrillers, after LA Confidential and Payback, although we'll try to forget The Postman), Clint stars as FBI profiler, Terry McCaleb, who suffers a heart attack as he is about to catch the Code Killer, a serial killer who leaves a code and message for McCaleb to decipher at the scenes of his crimes. Several years later, following a heart transplant, a woman with a special link to McCaleb draws him back into the world of investigation he left behind, by asking him to find out who killed her sister. The link between them, the killer and the victims leads McCaleb on a byzantine trail of clues, evidence and suspects to which only he can find the answer.
This is not bragging, but I knew who the killer was the instant I saw them on screen. This has probably something to do with the fact that I love crime thrillers as a genre, have seen many, and so recognise the elements inherent to the form. However, even knowing this, I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Work. Helgeland knows the form as well and his screenplay tries to avoid the conventions and clichés usually found in a hard-boiled thriller, making traditional explanation of the plot scenes more interesting and revelation of clues more natural and less obvious. Nowhere is this freshness more apparent than in the unveiling of the killer, which is commonly an excuse for an overly melodramatic moment and gratuitous chase scenes.
A lot of crime thrillers tend to emphasise the 'thrill' and forget the 'crime' but Blood Work doesn't, showing the detective work in an interesting manner, putting clues and red herrings in for the vigilant viewer to catch. The story flows smoothly, with a nice line in humour peppered liberally throughout, especially in the form of Paul Rodriguez as typical cop comic relief. Clint is Clint, even at 72, still going strong and perfect for the central character, looking old but still able to get the job done. His relaxed directorial style suits the material, never having to resort to flashy tricks, concentrating on the narrative and the characters, harking back to the '70s style of cinema, when he did some of his best work. Clint's recent films haven't been as strong (Space Cowboys was a silly movie, and True Crime and Absolute Power were very forgettable) but Blood Work caused the creative juices to flow again. By no means one of the great crime thrillers, Blood Work is an entertaining piece of mainstream cinema.
Rating: DA
