11/10/2012 - The highly talented young director combines an impressive cast of British acting talent and stunning cinematography into an unsettling crime thriller

English director Nick Murphy, winner of last year’s Golden Crow (Corbeau d’Or) at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival with his thrilling film The Awakening [+see also:
trailer
film profile], returns to the festival circuit with a truly British thriller, Blood. The film is being screened in its world premiere at this year’s London Film Festival.

Blood is set in an English seaside town where the wind blows an icy reality through the cobbled streets and the tide holds dark secrets of a past that cannot be forgotten. Brothers Joe (Paul Bettany - photo) and Chrissie (Stephen Graham) Fairburn work in the police crime squad and are following in the footsteps of their father Lenny (Brian Cox) the former head of the squad - even his suffering from Alzheimer’s will not let him erase the memories of his unconventional and merciless interrogation tactics.

Blood initially presents itself as a typical crime thriller; the mutilated body of a young girl is displayed by her killer out in the open for all to see. The Fairburn brothers begin their investigation but it quickly becomes evident that the film will not follow the standard path of its genre.

Blood is a multifaceted film, the many layers of mystery and deceit make for an enthralling experience that one would not usually expect from the increasingly popular crime thriller. The cinematography is rich and telling, on the one hand painting a chilling picture of the British seaside town, on the other revealing more about its characters than words and actions combined. Blood is a tale of masculinity, loyalty, loneliness and fear. Murphy shows us what happens when we are pushed to our limit in a world that is always watching. Through the vehicle of a thriller, the film explores what we stand to lose when we make life-changing decisions and reveals that those closest to us can never truly remain unknowing spectators.

A difficult watch. However, it's well worth it for the carefully crafted frames which paint a fresco of nature and a portrait of human psychology. Blood is where images speak louder than the narrative and silence says more than words.