Rent Blood and Money (2020)

Bad will hunting. - Blood and Money review by TE

A curious mixture of a film!

The first third is a leisurely portrayal of an elderly lone hunter, travelling the winter forests of Northern Maine in his mobile home. Tom Berenger does a fair job of establishing this surly, impassive, haunted character.

There's quite a genre in American movies where someone stumbles across a hold-all containing millions of dollars from a botched heist or a drug deal gone wrong.

The power of wishful thinking!

It's when the action starts that this film careers off the rails. The bad guys appear from nowhere and the whole thing descends into truly amateurish, completely unrealistic gun play. The second half of the film suggests that the makers ran out of money, or maybe that's just a charitable interpretation of the mess.

At least there are some fine shots of the snow bound woods to sustain the viewer.

Jeremiah Johnson meets The Revenant - Blood and Money review by Alphaville

What begins as a touching character study, about an ailing veteran living in a motorhome and hunting in the woods of a wintry Maine, develops into a suspenseful thriller when he finds himself hunted by a gang of criminals. An aged Tom Berenger, in his best film for a long time, anchors the piece as a thoroughly believable character you’ll root for. He even has trouble bending to pick up his rifle.

On the down side, the film lacks high points, Tom’s behaviour sometimes seems contrived for the sake of the plot, and it will disappoint anyone looking for in-your-face action. Otherwise, set in an austere environment so well captured you can almost feel the chill, this is a seductive 90min watch.

Well acted slow burning drama - Blood and Money review by CD

I really enjoyed this film.  Don’t expect fast action but Tom Berenger’s performance is excellent and holds the whole film together.  He is a complex character and his personality shifts once he encounters the robbers, harking back to his army training.  The supporting roles are well acted and the film convincingly shows from his earlier tragedies how Berenger gets tipped over the edge.  The Maine scenery and skilful filming are interesting and add to the atmosphere.  The money becomes a side issue and at the end it is all about Berenger’s destructive behaviour.  Worth 4 stars and very much recommended.