Directed by:
Guillaume CanetCinematography:
Christophe OffensteinCast:
Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Mila Kunis, Marion Cotillard, Zoe Saldana, James Caan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Noah Emmerich, Lili Taylor, Domenick Lombardozzi (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
New York, 1974. Fifty-year-old Chris has just been released on good behavior after several years in prison following a gangland murder. Reluctantly waiting for him outside the gates is his younger brother, Frank, a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon, who raised them alone, seems to favor Chris despite all his troubles. Yet blood ties are the ones that bind, and Frank, hoping that his brother has changed, is willing to give him a chance -- he shares his home, finds him a job, and helps him reconnect with his children and his ex-wife, Monica. But Chris' inevitable descent back into a life of crime proves to be the last in a long line of betrayals, and after his brother's latest transgressions, Frank banishes him from his life. But it's already too late, as the brothers' destiny is bound together, forever. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (4)
Sometimes, good actors meet up in a very, very mediocre movie. It’s not a rule, but that’s what makes the shock bigger. Who would have thought that a film featuring the amazing Mila Kunis and Marion Cottillard can be so horribly boring that it makes painting the fence look like pure ecstasy?
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We have content like this a hundred times, but the form! The dirty and bleak feeling of a sweaty gym corner is palpable at times, as in Million Dollar Baby, but it regularly changes into beautiful panoramas and excellent, period-coordinated exteriors/interiors, as in American Gangster, with the expression means being somewhere in between. Sufficiently tangible, raw, austere, and down-to-earth, while not too grainy, shaky, or distracting in any way. In terms of acting, it is very strong not only because of the names in the cast. Emotionally layered just right.
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The opening scene already won me over with its uncompromising roughness and swing. And when the brilliant Clive Owen appeared, who has perhaps never acted better (you can't tell from the photos, you have to see his perfect transformation into a silent criminal), the decision was made. Blood Ties is a great film with a slow-moving but certainly not boring or uninteresting story, great actors and a great atmosphere.
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A little too stretched out criminal drama, where it's not so much about the crime as it is about the relationships between the characters. Clive Owen has taken the bad boy path and he's doing well, I adore Marion Cotillard, but even she can't save it. Mila Kunis is just here for the looks. For such a running time, this is a bit unbearable, but at least the ending manages to intrigue the viewer a little.
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