According to Variety, director Rod Blackhurst and co-writer David Ebeltoft’s Blood for Dust is “Breaking Bad meets Fargo,” and they’re not wrong. Lead actor Scoot McNairy (True Detective, The Comey Rule) channels every great gritty neo-noir protagonist as Cliff, an average salesman who bites off more than he can chew while just trying to make a living in desperate times — aren’t we all?
Set in the ’90s somewhere around the tri-state area of the U.S., Blood for Dust is a consistently well-performed film that poses some interesting questions about how low we will sink to make a living and support our families. We’ve seen this kind of story before, but the universal themes of economic hardship and a talented cast make it worth watching.
Kit Harington may not be getting his Jon Snow Game of Thrones spinoff, but hey — that just means he has time for other projects. Exhibit A is Blood for Dust, where his character Ricky is worlds away from Westeros. Ricky recruits down-on-his-luck family man Cliff (McNairy) to help him with a drug-running operation overseen by hotheaded mob boss John (Josh Lucas, showing acting range we haven’t seen from him in years). Keep an eye out for an intense “job interview” scene when Ricky brings Cliff in to meet John and see if he’s right for the gig.
But before any of this happens, we get some insight into what drove Cliff into such dangerous situations. We watch as he tragically loses his sales job after his boss (Chris Mullinax) finds out about some criminal activities from years ago that Cliff may or may not have been involved with. Cliff flips through his Rolodex and tries to land another nine-to-five, but no one — not even former coworker Gus (the always great Stephen Dorff) — will hire him. “I don’t need a salesman,” Gus tells him. But is it really that? Cliff might just be what they call “radioactive,” unfortunately.
The cast of Blood for Dust boasts plenty of standout supporting performances as well. Keep an eye out for a ripped Ethan Suplee (The Wolf of Wall Street), whom millennials may not even recognize from his days as the big bully on Boy Meets World. In Blackhurst’s film, cartel boss John enlists one of his guys, Slim (Suplee), to ride along with Cliff for the job. Slim is all business and furrowed brows, constantly watching his six as Cliff cruises through the tri-state area transporting a car trunk full of mysterious goods. Are they being followed? Does Cliff have any idea what’s really going on?
You will be biting your nails throughout Blood for Dust, even if you have an idea of where it’s going. There are a few false starts and red herrings that keep that guessing game alive. A Hallmark Christmas this is not, as demonstrated by co-writer/director Blackhurst. Once Cliff and Slim hit the job site, it doesn’t take a film expert to know things are going to go south. Of course Reckless Ricky resurfaces — with a face like Harington’s, you can’t keep him off-screen for too long, even if he’s wearing obnoxious facial hair. And then there’s further chaos.
Out there in real-world modern America — in a time when inflation and heated politics have people and communities isolated from one another — some might say it’s dog-eat-dog (what with the massive layoffs dominating headlines). A ’90s-centered thriller like Blood for Dust gives me those same economic vibes; McNairy also starred in Killing Them Softly (2012), which similarly made some powerful statements about the hard times we live in here in the U.S. of A. I’m sure Cliff’s scenes with wife Amy (Nora Zehetner) will strike a chord with all the money-is-tight lads out there who’ve had to have those difficult chats with their spouses about career setbacks and failed prospects and more.
Blood for Dust has an indie feel to it (contained but perhaps held back from being more impactful due to budget restraints), but still hits all of its necessary thrills — including a shootout sequence during the increasingly tense third act. The only problem? The events leading up to said shootout are a bit too predictable.
But man, watching Cliff desperately try to claw his way out of this crime-fueled mess … what fun! Always crooked? Perhaps. But as our protagonist here offers up another layer on top of that “good guy” notion, we’re left wondering what we might resort to in times of desperate need?
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