Blood and Money Review

I imagine Tom Berenger's reaction when he received the script to "Blood and Money," the new thriller based in the Maine mountains of Allagash, was something like "you know I've been meaning to go skiing."

Playing a retired Vietnam vet who spends his last days hunting deer and avoiding the booze, Tom is far too good an actor for material like this, but he's a true professional, elevating thankless dialogue and tired motivations with a level of intense detachment, looking mildly frustrated as we watch him go through his bland routine of smoking his way between scenes of him eating and reading the newspaper.

One day he accidentally shoots a woman he mistakes for a buck, he panics and flees the scene, only to realize he left a cigarette butt nearby and must go back. But not before learning she's a criminal wanted for robbing a casino, which is where the creaky plot thickens. He steals the money only to immediately be pursued by the dead corpse's partners in crime. The holes in this raggedy narrative as big enough you could fit the Oscar-nominated lead's head through it, but film's strong points are strong enough to keep it from being forgotten beneath fresh snow.

His character is one that could only exist in the movies, as he's shot, soaked, and sick but always able to get right back up. But we buy it all because of our star, hardly speaking any words but always dominating the shot. He's a presence on film, squinting in almost every frame as his eyes burn through your TV; you can tell he's thinking but you're not sure about what, prepared for the worst and ready to explode, like a windup toy that hasn't gone off yet. This separates him from other aged action stars like Liam Neeson and Sylvester Stallone, as his reactions to both peril and drama is the same stony stare, his face cracked from age with thick creases of experience.

John Barr makes his directorial debut here, and he knows how to stage a shot, with the powdered landscape being equally an impressive actor as Berenger. Frames are filled with the icy isolation, which not only provides the movie with a signature look but also to give another element of danger for our hero. He has to combat the cold as well as crooks, hugging small fires and always on the lookout for a new shelter. Filmed on location in Maine, instead of just being set there, helps cement the picture's impressive verisimilitude; the uneven terrain has actors moving in a way a soundstage could never replicate.

I liked the craft behind "Blood and Money," the level of authority from Tom and the surprising artistry of Barr's freshmen effort. In a world were we're all locked inside as the sun shines along outside, it's nice to see people outside playing in the snow.