Laços de um Crime

i was looking for something with a bit of grit and I found it in this movie.The acting was very good and the plot was interesting and suspenseful.The characters and the darkness of the movie all contributed to the feel of the movie which left me invested in the characters and how the investigation would play out and affect the lives of those involved. The acting by Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham was intense and the relationship between the two brothers was well developed. I liked the fact it had an ending which completed the story as there is nothing worse than watching a movie and they don't deliver the whole spectrum of the story. Definitely worth the watch.

The brothers Chris and Joe are policemen working together. A family tradition. Their old Dad was also a detective, now suffering from the first signs of Alzheimer's decease. They get frustrated when they can't get a former child abuser convicted for murdering a 12 year old girl, even if they find her necklace and some pictures of her in his apartment. They start off with untraditional methods to get him to confess.

This is the start of this British crime thriller, which follows in the great tradition of this kind from the isles. The start is bleak, but takes on a strong turn, which grabs your interest intensively.

A strong cast, with Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham leading on, with great Brian Cox as the father, and Mark Strong as a colleague, and Ben Crompton as the pedophile. Strong performances all over, also from the kids. Bettany is great when he gets this haunted look.

The film is suspenseful and atmospheric, though filmed in bleach colors, making in just the more real looking. Recommended!

"What have you done??! What have you done ??!" After a young girl is brutally murdered it is up to a family on the police force to catch the murderer. After all the clues point to one man two brothers go out and find him and bring him in for questioning. After it turns out there isn't enough evidence for trial they push for a confession. When the interrogation goes to far the family is now forced to investigate the crime they committed. This was an interesting idea for a movie and I am usually a fan of the British crime genre so I was looking forward to seeing this. I was not disappointed at all. The movie was a little slow at times but overall it kept me interested and I really liked the character arcs and watching all of them change for better or worse. The cast and acting is great and the movie is tense and entertaining. Fans of this genre will really enjoy this, I know I did. Overall, very much worth seeing and keeps you feeling tense and your not really sure who to root for the entire movie. I give it a B.

BLOOD is the film version of a lengthy BBC miniseries called CONVICTION, in which a pair of detective brothers struggle to cope with the demands of the job while caring for their father who's suffering from dementia. When a young girl is found brutally murdered in the local skate park, her death drives the men over the edge.

Wow, this is one of the darkest movies I've seen in a while. It's almost wrist-slittingly grim, with a cast populated by the mentally ill, perverts, and psychopaths. The film was shot in the Wirral and looks dark and grim throughout, with the only colour that stands out blood red. Depressing scene follows depressing scene, until the final nihilistic climax.

Despite the downbeat nature of the production, this is highly watchable thanks to the talents of a fine cast. Paul Bettany excels as the volatile lead, with Stephen Graham giving a typically assured turn as his stressed-out brother. Brian Cox still shines even in his later years as the elder struggling with memory loss. There are even roles for former comedian Adrian Edmondson and Ben Crompton, best known for his role as one of the Night's Watch in GAME OF THRONES. And I can't say out pleased I am to see Mark Strong NOT typecast as a villain.

The plot is a simple one and yet there's so much incident packed into the scant running time that it ends up being very fast paced with barely room to go out of the room and make a cup of tea. I'm glad it has a short running time too; I'm not sure I would have wanted to sit through hours and hours of this grim story. A British Scandi-noir type thriller, BLOOD deserves plaudits for the work of its cast alone.

Great cast, promising story - but ultimately disappointing.

It did not surprise me to learn that this film was based on a TV series. Over much of the running time I found myself distracted by just how busy the story was. It was one plot point after another, after another, with no space in-between to let the characters (or audience) absorb each of the many developments before proceeding - or to establish a strong sense of mood or location. It seemed as though the makers had condensed into a feature film length a story that was intended to be told over a much longer duration - as though an emotionally balanced story had been harshly edited, leaving just a collection of 'flashpoints.'

With a cast and story this good, Blood could have achieved something as atmospheric and dramatic as Mystic River. Unfortunately though, it felt like one of those British TV crime dramas in which they have to introduce characters, portray a crime, investigate the crime (uncovering a series of disturbing family secrets and dispensing with a couple of red herrings in the process) and arrive at a harrowing (but ultimately just) conclusion, all within the span of a single episode.

An enjoyable, but not especially memorable, film.