Set in the northern woods of Maine, Blood and Money is as ornery as its lead, a virtually homeless vet guilt-stricken over his past. As played by the redoubtable Tom Berenger, Jim Reed is a loner relentlessly chewing over his mistakes, suspicious of everyone, reluctant to reach out. That is until he stumbles across a duffel filled with cash.
It’s a classic film noir premise, but instead of dark streets, director and cinematographer John Barr lets it unfold in the blindingly white winter woods of northern Maine. Barr focuses at first on non-noir elements, like Reed’s day-to-day routines. Crime, with its attendant moral issues, slips in gradually.
The Maine shown in Blood and Money has its moments of bucolic beauty. But mostly viewers see the hardscrabble poverty of worn-out small towns: bars, diners, AA meetings in American Legion halls, shopping mall parking lots, gas station convenience stores.
Even in the woods, Blood and Money is about grit and grime. Logs piled up in muddy yards, business trailers filled with maps and paperwork, the occasional ranger-staffed checkpoint at the gate to private property.
It’s an elemental world where survival is uncertain, and it’s captured efficiently by no-nonsense camerawork. Barr’s screenplay, co-written with Mike McGrale and Alan Petherick, is elemental as well. Berenger fleshes out his role, but the other characters are barely sketched in, apart from Kristen Hager’s turn as Debbie, a diner waitress.
In terms of plot, Blood and Money builds from No Country for Old Men, asking how far Reed would go to hold onto an unexpected fortune. This is a micro-budget movie (although it doesn’t look skimpy), so Reed’s choices are a little too limited: fight the bad guys or give in.
Because he is a veteran and an experienced hunter, Reed has an advantage over the villains. The plot gradually strips him of his weapons, forcing him to rely on his knowledge of the woods. Being lost on an unmarked logging road can be extremely disorienting; add winter conditions, and staying alive becomes a real problem. Unfortunately, the budget forces the filmmakers here to rely on a few locations and basic stunts.
Now in his seventies, Berenger doesn’t have to act to project age. Like his character, he’s cautious walking because his microspikes might not hold on the ice-glazed snow. When he hunts, Reed shows years of experience. Watch how he wraps his shoulder strap, checks his safety, saves his bullet casings. It’s a finely tuned performance that elevates Blood and Money beyond a typical pulp revenge thriller.
Screen Media had planned a theatrical release for Blood and Money; thanks to Covid-19, it is available instead on Apple TV+ and Fandango prior to a DVD release in July. Photos courtesy Screen Media.
