Blood & Wine

BLOOD & WINE (1996) *** Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Judy Davis, Harold Perrineau. Fine devious neo noir and serpentine twists along the way with slick wine salesman Nicholson partnering with chronic, oily Caine (gleefully enjoying his scumbag role) for a get rich quick diamond necklace heist that only gets botched (natch) when his stepson Dorff starts to add up the heinous acts they've committed. Nicholson's attack on Caine is scarily funny. Directed by long-time Jack Packer, Bob Rafelson.

Jack Nicholson is typically brilliant. Judy Davis is positively compelling. Michael Caine does what he does when given a great script: exceptional work. Stephen Dorff is a great young actor, and Jennifer Lopez is stunningly beautiful, if at times out of her league here.

The script is good, the direction is excellent, and the film, in total, is a solid 8.5 on the 10 scale. Those who complain that the film is too violent shouldn't watch movies about crime. Crime is typically violent. (Despite the way it's depicted in most films.)

See this movie. Ignore the idiots.

In Miami, Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson) is a small trader of wines, married with Suzanne (Judy Davies). He does not have a good relationship with his wife and his stepson, Jason (Stephen Dorff). Alex has a Cuban mistress, Gabriela (Jennifer Lopez). One day, he decides to steal a jewel from a rich client, in the house where Gabriela works as a nanny. Alex associates to the tuberculous small-time crook Victor Spansky (Michael Caine). A series of mistakes jeopardize the heist and the selling of the necklace. This amoral and noir movie has a magnificent cast. However, something does not work well, being just an average movie about greed. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sangue e Vinho" ("Blood and Wine")

Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine are so good in this movie. The temptation to chew up the scenery must have been overwhelming, but neither did. Neither grandstanded, and each played their vastly unappealing characters right down to the last detail.

Caine plays an aging and ill thief looking for that last big score on which he can retire. Nicholson plays a middle-class wine distributor locked into an unhappy marriage, failing business, and a young girlfriend to support. They unite to rob one of Nicholson's clients, an act they feel will solve all of their problems. Of course it doesn't and everything that can go wrong, does. And then things begin to turn ugly.

Dark, noirish, this is not a feel-good caper flick. It's definitely not "The Sting". What it is is well acted, directed, and filmed. Highly recommended, I'm just puzzled why it was overlooked at the Academy Awards.

Without doubt this film has great performances from Caine, Nicholson and Davis (though hers' is a short role in comparison). The violence is uncalled for. The script has some great lines (e.g., Caine's lines on burial vs cremation) but the script does not hold you for long. If Rafelson wanted to make a trilogy progressing from son to brother to father--why choose a stepfather role for the "father"? Is there no difference for Rafelson? There are times when the "family" within the film son, mother and stepfather emerges as an interesting triangle but for some reason Rafelson does not invest time on this aspect except for a few flashes--(e.g., mother to son "I would have done the same" or Nicholson protecting his stepson's friend from brutality or Nicholson covering Davis' with blankets as she sleeps). Had he delved more into relationships, this film could have been a wonderful modern day Hamlet-like tragedy.