2023 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Down on his luck, with nothing left to provide for his family, Cliff (Scoot McNairy), a failing traveling salesman, is presented with an opportunity when a mysterious man from his past, Ricky (Kit Harrington), shows up and makes him a proposition. When he learns that he will be running contraband across state lines for less-than-desirable individuals, he knows that his journey will be anything but simple. Blood for Dust is Cliff’s journey as he does all that he can to provide for his family and make a life for them.
Filled with death and destruction, Blood for Dust is a fast-paced journey that rarely relents. It does its due diligence, and it develops in a way that allows viewers to follow along. It’s full of thrills and mystery, and those things are juxtaposed by that aforementioned action. It’s a film that lends itself to a wide variety of viewers–a film that does its damndest to appeal to many. The action is what’s best developed throughout the course of Blood for Dust, but the cinematography does something for this film that no other aspect could have.
Director of Photography Justin Derry captures emotion in ways that you don’t often see in film. There are moments when words aren’t enough to express how characters are feeling, and there are times when seeing them cry doesn’t deliver as planned. The way that Derry plays with light and angles, however, allows some things to make their way into the frame and change the tone of a scene, or alter the trajectory of the film as a whole. In one particular scene the camera shifts ever so slightly, just enough to catch a hidden tear developing in a character’s eye–and that scene effectively becomes perfect. It’s subtle, but it’s perfect. Blood for Lust sees things like this come to light throughout its entirety, and it’s honestly some of the best work that I’ve seen in a long time.
McNairy is brilliant, never missing a beat along the way–and he leads a massively talented cast that never holds back, constantly upping the ante and making Blood for Dust better. However, the person that most impressed me was Harrington. It’s often difficult to separate an actor from a larger-than-life role, and in a lot of ways that’s the case with Harrington and Jon Snow of Game of Thrones. Harrington is so unique here, however, so brilliant in altering himself in a way that allows viewers to suspend their disbelief, to believe every word that pours from his mouth. This may just be his best performance to date, as he continues to deliver throughout the entirety of Blood for Dust, constantly providing emotion, passion, and excitement every time he steps in frame.
Blood for Dust is a bit of a bulky journey, a bit of a challenge to make it through if I’m being honest. But there are so many wonderful aspects of this film, so many things to love about it. Both individually and collectively they are great, but collectively they can potentially overflow the veritable bucket with content. Now let me be clear, I don’t think that there is too much content in Blood for Dust for viewers to digest, but for those who aren’t looking for layer after layer from beginning to end, Blood for Dust will be just a tad too much for them. What allows the film to shine so brightly (ironically enough, as most of the film is physically dark) is the cinematography and the outstanding performances for each of the actors. It’s these things that captivated me, these things that kept me interested.
Directed by Rod Blackhurst.
Written by David Ebeltoft.
Starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harrington, Josh Lucas, Stephen Dorff, Ethan Suplee, Nora Zehetner, Amber Rose Mason, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
Comentarios