The reigning clich+
a $10,000 Whitelight Productions independent film shot in and around Athens, looks and sounds as though it will be the latter - the DVD's menu screen shows an axe smeared with blood, while the title conjures images of underground cults and brutal revenge.
What a pleasure it is, then, that director Dane McCarthy's flawed- -but-interesting feature-length debut is a thoughtful riff on how the past creeps its way into the present. McCarthy, an OU graduate, might suffer the pitfalls of many new directors, but the story of In the Blood is intriguing, and its sense of pacing shows real nuance and maturity.
At the center of In the Blood is McCarthy, who - in an Eastwood-esque move - writes, directs and stars as Dodge, a tortured ex-radical attempting to live his life while haunted by a bank robbery he committed in 1972 with a group of friends.
The movie begins with a flashback to Dodge's crime, showing the band of five storming a bank and their frantic attempts to flee afterward. Immediately, Blood enters the present day, the radicals now worn by age and with problems all their own.
Dodge carries a great deal of weight: He constantly fears authorities are on his tail, and his relationship with his wife comes to an end the same day he decides it's time to turn himself in. That decision isn't received well by the rest of the radicals in hiding, and what ensues is Dodge's fight to escape the past when it would be so easy to leave it buried.
From the start, editor/cinematographer Arnold Chambers shows a strong eye and cunning knack for flow. McCarthy structures the film so it builds on a series of character-driven moments that climax with, of all things, a Christmas party that is surprising in its emotional effect.
Although Blood is interesting for much of its running time, it does stumble, mainly because some actors are more comfortable than others in front of the camera. Several scenes are awkwardly staged and static, including the film's few attempts at action.
But when the professional-quality talent of Natalie Jose, an OU senior who plays Dodge's wife Alyssa, and Michael O'Brien, who takes a small role and fills it with pitch-perfect bitterness, is on screen, Blood looks and feels like a million bucks.
Writing a review about a locally produced film such as In the Blood is a special challenge. It lacks the technical expertise of a major production, and it falls apart during its action-packed finale, which successfully brings the story around full circle but simply can't handle fight scenes.
In the Blood shines despite its flaws, though, especially in a scene midway through the film where Dodge's landlord, Marci, takes him on hill for a serene moment that is as indescribably beautiful as anything I have seen in a big-budget movie.
Moments like that make In the Blood worth it. 17
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Matt Burns
