Blood Ties

It's 1974 New York. Police detective Frank Pierzynski (Billy Crudup) leads a raid against Anthony Scarfo (Matthias Schoenaerts). They are disappointed by the relatively limited evidence found and Frank reconnects with his ex Vanessa (Zoe Saldana) who is now married to Scarfo. Scarfo awaits his release as his fury grows about Vanessa abandoning him for Frank. Meanwhile, Frank's older criminal brother Chris Pierzynski (Clive Owen) is released after serving twelve years for a revenge killing. His ex-wife Monica (Marion Cotillard) is now a drug-addicted prostitute. He has new girlfriend Natalie (Mila Kunis) and falls back into his criminal ways. He's living with his brother, father Leon (James Caan), and sister Marie (Lili Taylor)

This keeps threatening to be a good period crime thriller. It has the gritty feel and the music. It has a good cast. It has French action director Guillaume Canet. It should be compelling. It never really picks up steam except for one thrilling robbery sequence. While Crudup is solid in this era, Clive Owen is trying very hard to be hard. It's questionable if Owen could ever be that hard. Even in a bar fight where he hits a guy with a bottle, it still ends with a wimpy hold-me-back. I don't believe that he's been in a tough prison for twelve years. There are also a few too many females in the movie. I'm not being sexist. I mean there is at least one unnecessary female connection, not to mention that Lili Taylor has nothing to do other than to yell at the boys. The story narrative is a bit muddled but it figures it out by the time of the shootout. It just doesn't continue it with a compelling brother vs brother narrative. Instead, it gerry-rigs the story to engineer a shocking poetic ending. This movie keeps missing the target whenever it threatens to get good. The parts are all there if not the whole.

Blood Ties tells the story of two brothers, one cop and one convict, making their way through their dysfunctional lives in the early 1970's. Director Guillaume Canet gives the audience an unabashed view of what life looked like then, including the bad hair, tacky clothes, and even the awful paint colors on most interior walls. He observes, rather than explains, and lets the viewer absorb the uncomfortable interactions between the characters, rather than force those moments onto those watching. He even incorporates music of the period into the story, in a Scorsese like way.

Clive Owen plays Chris, who is just released from prison and is having hard time adapting back into society, trying to keep on the straight and narrow and not violate the terms of his parole. This is not helped by the allure of getting sucked back into the world of violent crime, as many of the people he runs into in the real world are criminals and/or ex cons. Adding to his stresses are his cold ex-wife, played by Marion Cotillard, who demands years of back child support payments soon after Chris's release. Having seen Owen in mostly strict dramatic roles, this role, while also dramatic, gives Owen a chance to smile a bit, exploring a range of emotions and embracing his inner rebel, reminiscent of a Nicholas Cage.

On the flip side of the family, Billy Crudup plays Chris's brother Frank, a cop trying to reconnect with his ex, played by Zoe Saldana. His life is difficult as well, with a somewhat meek personality not particularly suited for law enforcement, and trying to help Chris fit back into the real world. The cast is rounded out by James Caan, playing the brothers' ailing dad, and Mila Kunis, playing Chris's young love interest.

The expectation of this movie should be set in that the audience is watching a drama, not an action or cops-and-robbers movie. Having said that, I found Crudup's performance understated, but that may have been the vibe that director Canet was looking for.

"Blood Ties" is a remake of the 2008 film "Rivals" which starred this movie's director, Guillaume Canet. James Caan, one of the stars of this film, helped him infuse the translation with some New York lingo.

The movie is set in the '70s, with Chris (Clive Owen) just being released from prison after 12 years. His brother Frank (Billy Crudup) is a police officer who lets him stay at his place and helps Chris get a job. In one of the first scenes, the boys' father (James Caan) is released from the hospital after having a lung removed. He is being cared for by their sister Marie (Lili Taylor).

Chris doesn't keep his job, but he does get a girlfriend out of it (Mila Kunis). He has no money so he reverts to crime again. Apparently his years in prison have made him a ruthless killer. When Frank recognizes him at a brutal robbery of an armored truck, his own career is threatened.

Frank, meanwhile, is still in love with Vanessa (Zoe Saldana), whom he parted ways with, and she accuses him of stalking her. And Chris' ex-wife (Marion Cotillard) turns tricks; she wants money from him, supposedly for child support, but he knows it's for drugs.

This is the age-old story of two brothers, one (Frank) who grew up adoring Chris, who traveled to the wrong side of the tracks at an early age, and the decisions they must make as adults as they try to get their lives together.

The family dynamics are terrific and ring true, with Marie and her father desperately wanting the brothers to get along and the family to be back together; meanwhile, Frank and Chris fight verbally and physically. James Caan gives a wonderful performance as a frail, sick man who has trouble expressing his emotions. His scene with Frank is especially touching.

The acting overall is excellent from this fine cast. Clive Owen and Billy Crudup are two favorites of mine, and both play the different aspects of their characters beautifully. Crudup has the more difficult role, torn between his love for his brother and his work. As Chris, Owen is a pragmatic sociopath. He goes out and gets what he wants without any qualms of conscience, attempting to manipulate Frank with a little grin. All that brings them together is their love for their father and sister, but it's not enough and it's too late.

This movie made next to no money and played only 28 theaters. It's not the most earth-shattering film you'll ever see, and parts are on the slow side, but it definitely deserved being seen by a wider audience and have better marketing. It's a shame that the fine work these people did was seen by so few. Perhaps as a rental it will do better.

IF YOU EXPECT THIS TO BE A CLASSIC Hollywood GANGSTER MOVIE, YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! It's not, it's way more than that, it's almost entirely based on the characters development. As the movie unfolds, we learn more and more about the lives of the two brothers, and the circumstances in which they keep finding each other, which makes it very hard for them to connect on a brotherly level. The actors play their roles to perfection, very believable, specially Clive Owen and Marion Cotillard. The cast is exceptional and bring out the essence of the period. I really enjoyed this movie from beginning to end, and I'm glad it wasn't action based. I didn't find the 2 hours long like some of the viewers, although I understand it's not for everybody who usually expect more dynamical plot from a 70's movie.

All the ingredients were there and the whole time watching it, I was rooting for this to be an intense, potentially "epic" '70s crime movie, and at first, it FELT like it could easily be just that, and then comes some contrived plot devices that bring you back into present day.

I won't spoil anything though, read the summary for a summary. The movie easily captures the '70s with its set pieces and locations and even gives you the feel of a movie made in that era. There are moments of brilliance that come in the form of suspenseful buildups, great direction, and editing and score work that turns some scene transitions into awesomeness. With a 2 hour running time, I had no issues with it feeling long or boring. The acting is impressive on all accounts (some chemistry could be a bit weird though) and for about the first hour I was engaged and feeling, 'wow, if they could just keep this up,' and then of course, unfortunately, they don't.

At some point some things just start to feel like their just being tossed in. I think one of its main problems is that the only real character development is placed on the two leads, so you can empathize when it calls for it and understand why the leads feel and act as they do, but only towards each other, and not always in the context of their interactions with supporting characters. The story calls for enough twists and turns that there is no room to do much developing with the supporting characters and this causes certain situations to happen rather abruptly or seem forced in order to get to the next stage. This could all be easily overlooked if it didn't happen so often (and at critical moments) and continually cause me to lose my suspension of disbelief while viewing an, otherwise, very well made movie.

Problems with plot are highly subjective so I still recommend this and am sure people will find what they were looking for, I ALMOST did. 6.5/10