Blood Father is a beautifully crafted drama about redemption and reconciliation featuring two great and emotional performances by Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty in conjunction with an efficient story that doesn’t wear out its welcome with superfluous scenes.
Blood Father
(2016
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Drama
Lionsgate | R – 88 min. – $24.99 | October 11, 2016
Date Published: 10/30/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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Mel Gibson is, to say the least, a controversial figure and someone who has been attempting a comeback for several years now. Taking his personal life aside, as I tend to do with most celebs (with the exception with anyone accused of a serious crime), he’s still got the acting chops and tackling some interesting material, playing to his age while not settling for the grandpa roles (one reason Gene Hackman I’ve read retired). With Blood Father, this is a simple story about a father-daughter relationship and ultimate redemption. The story centers around ex-convict John Link (MEL GIBSON), a recovering alcoholic who is living in the middle of the desert in a motor home park working as a tattoo artist given any previous professions would violate his parole. One day he receives a call from his daughter, Lydia (ERIN MORIARTY), who has been missing for years. Lydia is in trouble following the death of her drug-dealing boyfriend (DIEGO LUNA) and now big time cartel members are after her not only for the death but missing money they believe she stole. She’s now in need of her father’s help in the form of money to she can escape the area and lie low. John is more than willing to help having been in search for Lydia and he picks her up and brings her back to his s-hole of a trailer. The pair rekindles their relationship as best as possible but finding a gun and drugs in her purse, John is need of answers and the full story of why she’s on the run. However, before long, the bad guys manage to find her location, a gunfight ensues and they barely escape with their lives, saved only by fellow trailer park residents led by John’s sober sponsor, Kirby (WILLIAM H. MACY), apparently divorced and broke after the events of Jurassic Park III… So John and Lydia go on the run first stopping by an old acquaintance (MICHAEL PARKS) who owes John for keeping silent while he did a stint but is greeted with anything but a warm reception especially after discovering a reward for their arrest; they are also being tracked by a badass Sicario (RAOUL MAX TRUJILLO), a hitman (or cleaner) working for a cartel. Blood Father is a short film, clocking in around only 80-minutes (sans credits) but it’s an efficient film that gives us just enough character moments for both Gibson’s Link and Moriarty’s Lydia, though William H. Macy does get short-changed appearing for about 5-minutes. The story itself isn’t unique but what is, is the intensity in Gibson’s performance and the redemption angle, again not exactly unique, and really gives the film an emotional core. Erin Moriarty, a relative newcomer with only a few films under her belt, has some great scenes even when her character acts like an idiot, of course that could be expected from a 17-year-old. Still, Moriarty and Gibson have some wonderful scenes together especially toward the finale. The film was directed by Jean-François Richet (Assault on Precinct 13 remake) — from a script by Andrea Berloff and Peter Craig (based off his novel) — gives us some solid action/shootout scenes and a few genuinely tense moments, but at its core, is that father/daughter relationship where the film excels more so than the central plot. I don’t think the film is any kind of masterpiece and I’m certain Gibson’s antics (to say the least) still turns people, but when setting it aside, you do get an intense and affecting performance, one that for anyone else might garner some award potential. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
| This release comes with a matted slip cover. Inside is a code for the Digital HD copy. The only feature included is Lost Souls: On the Road with Blood Father (27:50; HD) a semi-lengthy making-of featurette. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Blood Father is presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and given an AVC-encoded 1080p high-definition transfer. This is a pretty good looking movie even if not the brightest as the tone is darker and colors tend to lean more toward the natural spectrum. Even so, detail is fairly sharp and nicely defined throughout and there were no noticeable instances of artifacts, aliasing or other ailments. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The disc comes with your standard DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is adequate enough yet a bit too low key in some scenes. Although this is mostly a dialogue-driven movie, there is an explosion which didn’t have much impact to it and the rear speakers were mostly relegated for minor ambient noises. Not a bad track by any stretch, just lacks depth compared to others for recent releases. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, Blood Father is a beautifully crafted drama about redemption and reconciliation featuring two great and emotional performances by Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty in conjunction with an efficient story that doesn’t wear out its welcome with superfluous scenes. The Blu-ray released through Lionsgate offers up great video, decent audio and a fine bonus feature. |
Paul? Paul who????
Thanks, lol.