X
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 7 m
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 7 m
Summary New York, 1974. Fifty-year-old Chris (Clive Owen) 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 (Billy Crudup), a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon (Ja...
Directed By: Guillaume Canet
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 7 m
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 7 m
Blood Ties
45
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary New York, 1974. Fifty-year-old Chris (Clive Owen) 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 (Billy Crudup), a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon (Ja...
Directed By: Guillaume Canet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
45
19% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
45
19% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Blood Ties not only convincingly recreates its era, it seems like it could have been made then.
Though it takes a long while for the many moving parts to click into place, the final minutes redeem not only a few characters but also Blood Ties itself -- not enough to make up for prior transgressions, perhaps, but enough to leave a favorable last impression.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 User Ratings
6.6
41% Positive
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
52% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 User Ratings
6.6
41% Positive
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
52% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Ignore the mediocre ratings. This film is a gem. I'm in my mid-50s so I remember the 70s well. Unlike other period films that exaggerate the styles and attitudes of the 1970s, Blood Ties simply gets the 70s spot on correct. What a relief. The story is a complex interweaving of dramas involving a cop, his criminal brother, and the women in their lives. Those who think this movie are slow are looking for an action flick, which this is not. If you think Indiana Jones is a normally paced movie, then you might think this is slow. This is a drama that bothers to explore character, so that when the characters do things you know why. Rather than a series of nearly random set pieces as you get in crazy action flicks, here you get an actual story that is driven by the needs and desires of the characters who inhabit the movie. Imagine that. I think Zoe Saldana is the best actress in Hollywood and the sexiest to boot; it is a thrill to see her in something other than a super hero, action, or sci-fi flick. There is action in this of course. It's a violent film, but it is essentially a drama. Clive Owen, too, a great actor who doesn't get enough good roles. This film was a real treat. If you like films that maintain a tight story while at the same time embracing a broad cast of characters and their backgrounds, this movie is for you. I wish it were a TV series so I could watch it every week for years.
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I really liked this movie.
I don't quite understand the mixed and/or negative reviews.
Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, and James Caan are all very **** is the rest of the cast. Yes, this is a long movie. However, its length isn't a problem because the content is **** least it was to me, anyway.
I have brothers. All of my siblings are very different from one another...although not quite as different as the two central characters in "Blood Ties".
Many years ago, my youngest brother dragged me (at his insistence...I didn't want to go) to a viewing of the just-released "Blade Runner". The critics hated it...I loved it. Now, it's (appropriately) regarded as a science-fiction classic.
You can listen to the critics on "Blood ****, see it for yourself.
This is a quality film with a terrific cast...among so many other less-worthy choices.
Don't miss it...especially if you have one or more brothers.
It rings true.
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This isn’t a movie so much as a fetishist’s fever dream—a fantasia of New York crime movies from the 1970s that places the specificity of its time and place at center stage more than any actual New York crime movie from the era.
There are some very good performances and parts of performances in Blood Ties, but the movie fails to convey a sense of tribal identity within this world.
It’s all headed for a showdown, of course, and duly delivers, though Crudup and Taylor are the only ones who really seem to have a handle on the New Yawk accent.
The ‘70s recreation is reasonable -- there are plenty of vintage cars and pop tunes of the moment -- but the characters never register beyond the surfaces of the scenes despite being equipped with long-festering resentments and grudges.
Fine actors are let down by a comatose script and wayward direction in this retro crime drama.
I loved it. Some movies just make sense too much that they absorb you into their world. And Blood Ties is exactly that film. Clive Owen was great, I enjoyed his performance- it was very realistic. Mila Kunis is good as well. The story is very new- two brothers one is a cop and one is a criminal. I find films like this very refreshing and interesting. It's very rare you see a film like Blood Ties. But the film is slow and a bit boring at times but the film is worth the wait and the climax. Miss it and you will be missing one of the greatest dramas of the year.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Great on paper but never delivers what we expect. Extremely long, unoriginal (we've seen this story tons of times before), predictable and basically a copy of all gangster movies ever made. For those who watched Les Liens Du Sang, the movie in which Blood Ties is based on, we'll see the exact same thing they did in 2008, except it's in New York. Performances are great because the cast is superb but accents are bizarre (Marion Cotillard is Italian but speaks English with a French accent) and female roles are terrible (Lily Taylor is almost a figurant) and completely dependent on men. Funny since the most interesting thing in this film are female roles. Costumes and cinematography are quite good and soundtrack is nostalgic, even though it's forced and inadequate sometimes. Anyway, these technical aspects don't compensate the lack of development in the script and lack of creativity of the director, the once promissing Guillaume Canet.
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Shot in a 1970s style, Blood Ties certainly has the right look. The film features a great cast, that made me desperately want to see it, but the problem is that it's a very common tale and it moves along at a snails pace. Even with a story that's been done over and over again, Blood Ties still could have been something special, because of it's cast, but that didn't happen simply because it is one of the most predictable films I've seen all year. The film features two brothers, Chris (Clive Owen) a career criminal, just released from prison, and Frank (Billy Crudup) a New York City Detective, who tries to help Chris get back on his feet. Didn't I see this movie in 2007 when it was called We Own The Night? That film has the exact same tagline, but fortunately wasn't as predictable. Billy Crudup stars as the good brother and was the only interesting character in the film, surprising considering the film features two of my favorite actors, James Caan and Charlie Tahan. Unfortunately neither of them have a particular big or interesting role, as everything centers around these two brothers. The con is played by Clive Owen, who honestly seemed like he didn't want anything to do with this role. He is emotionless, uneven, and every time he has any kind of long dialogue, I thought I was going to fall asleep. The bottom line, one's a cop, the others a con, I wonder what's going to happen? What happens is exactly what you think is going to happen, so why even bother to watch this extreme disappointment?
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Production Company
Trésor Films,
Worldview Entertainment,
Caneo Films,
Mars Films,
Wild Bunch,
Grisbi Productions, Le,
France 2 Cinéma,
Chi-Fou-Mi Productions,
LGM Productions,
Treasure Company,
Canal+,
Ciné+,
France Télévisions,
M6,
France 4,
W9
Release Date Mar 21, 2014
Duration 2 h 7 m
Rating R
Tagline Crime runs in the family.
Website
http://bloodtiesthefilm.com/
