Blood Ties
Film poster
Directed byGuillaume Canet
Written by
Based on
  • Les liens du sang
    by
    • Jacques Maillot
    • Pierre Chosson
    • Eric Veniard
  • Deux frères: flic & truand
    by
    • Michel Papet
    • Bruno Papet
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChristophe Offenstein
Edited byHervé de Luze
Music byRaphaël Hamburger
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 20, 2013 (2013-05-20) (Cannes)
  • October 30, 2013 (2013-10-30) (France)
  • March 21, 2014 (2014-03-21) (United States)
Running time
  • 144 minutes (France)[2]
  • 127 minutes (United States)[3]
Countries
LanguageEnglish[1]
Budget$25 million[5]
Box office$2.5 million[6]

Blood Ties is a 2013 crime thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis and Matthias Schoenaerts. It is a remake of the 2008 French thriller film Les liens du sang by Jacques Maillot, an adaptation of the French novel Deux frères: flic & truand by Bruno and Michel Papet. The screenplay was written by Canet and James Gray. The film was selected to be screened out of competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[7] The film is a co-production between France and the United States. It was released in France by Mars Distribution on October 30, 2013, and by Roadside Attractions in the United States on March 21, 2014.

Plot

In 1974, Chris Pierzynski is released from prison after serving twelve years for murdering a rapist and killer he caught in the act. His ex-wife Monica is a drug-addicted prostitute. They have a son and a daughter. Chris tries to go straight with his new girlfriend Natalie, but is betrayed and sabotaged in his pursuit of a legitimate business venture. Returning to his criminal ways puts him in direct conflict with his brother Frank, who happens to be a New York City cop. Their sister Marie, and their sick father Leon, want Chris and Frank to just get along with each other.

When arresting Anthony Scarfo at his house, Frank happens to meet his ex-girlfriend Vanessa again. Though Vanessa is now married to Anthony and has a daughter by him, Frank and Vanessa get back together again anyway, and she decides to divorce Anthony. But in the meantime, Frank becomes conflicted over allowing Chris to flee the scene of a felony murder. After Anthony is released from police custody, his first act is to seek revenge against Frank for destroying his home life. Chris uncovers the plot and must decide between saving his own skin and stopping Anthony in his tracks.

Cast

Production

The film is a co-production between France and the United States.[4] It was produced by the French companies Les Productions du Trésor, LGM Cinéma, Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Caneo Films, Mars Films, and Wild Bunch International along with the American companies Worldview Entertainment and Le Grisbi Productions.[4][1]

Filming started on May 3, 2012 in Woodmere, New York.[8] The first pictures of the set surfaced on May 12, 2012.[9][10] Lionsgate UK acquired the UK rights.[11]

Casting

On March 15, 2012, it was announced that Clive Owen and Billy Crudup would star in Blood Ties, playing two brothers with Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldana as love interests and Marion Cotillard as ex-lover.[12] Austin Williams played a younger version of Owen's character.[13]

Release

Noah Emmerich, James Caan and Guillaume Canet promoting the film at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Blood Ties screened out of competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[14] It was released in France on October 30, 2013.[15] A trimmed version, running 127 minutes, was released in the United States on March 21, 2014.[16]

Home media

The 127-minute version was released on DVD in June 2014.[17]

Reception

Box office

In the United States it was released by Roadside Attractions and made $42,472 over two weekends in limited release.[18] In France, it had only 238,823 entries, although it was screened in more than 400 theaters in the country.[18][6] Blood Ties grossed $2.5 million worldwide.[6]

Critical response

Blood Ties received mixed reviews. On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rate of 52%, based on 56 reviews, with an average score of 5.61/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Blood Ties boasts a fine cast and palpable period detail, but ultimately fails to do much of anything new with its formulaic story."[19] Metacritic gave the film a rating of 45/100 (indicating "mixed or average"), based on reviews from 16 critics.[20]

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film, saying: "The impressive cast makes this French-financed New York 1974-set production watchable but it's too inert to catch on with critics or audiences."[21] Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars.[22] Matt Barone of Complex gave the film 3 out of 10 stars.[23] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International called it "Heat meets Mesrine via Cain and Abel".[24] Ryland Aldrich of Twitch Film praised the production. "From the wonderfully decorated exteriors loaded with the cars of the era to the record players spinning classic hits, 1970s New York absolutely comes alive", he said.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Blood Ties (2014)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Blood Ties". Cineuropa. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  3. ↑ Das, Abhimanyu (March 20, 2014). "Blood Ties". Slant Magazine.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Blood Ties de Guillaume Canet (2013)". Unifrance.
  5. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (January 9, 2014). "French Specialty Players: Lost in Translation?". Variety.
  6. 1 2 3 "Blood Ties (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. April 21, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ "First NYC filming location for 'Blood Ties', starring Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldana". On Location Vacations. May 3, 2012. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  9. ↑ Merriam, Allie (May 12, 2012). "Mila Kunis and Clive Owen Kiss For the Cameras". PopSugar. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Clive Owen and Mila Kunis in BLOOD TIES Set Photos". Film Filia. May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  11. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (May 17, 2012). "Lionsgate U.K. Snaps Up Guillaume Canet's Starry 'Blood Ties': Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 15, 2012). "Clive Owen, Billy Crudup to Star in Crime Thriller 'Blood Ties' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  13. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (May 8, 2012). "Austin Williams Cast in Guillaume Canet's Crime Thriller 'Blood Ties'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  14. ↑ Foundas, Scott (May 20, 2013). "Cannes Film Review: 'Blood Ties'". Variety.
  15. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (October 30, 2013). "Blood Ties: Guillaume Canet is an American gold digger". Cineuropa. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ Gilroy, Amanda (March 21, 2014). "'Blood Ties' Tries to Recreate the Mean Streets of '70s Brooklyn". PopMatters.
  17. ↑ Howell, Peter (June 19, 2014). "DVD reviews: Enemy and Blood Ties". Toronto Star.
  18. 1 2 JP. "Blood Ties (2013)- JPBox-Office". www.jpbox-office.com.
  19. ↑ "Blood Ties". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. March 21, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Blood Ties Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  21. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (May 19, 2013). "Blood Ties: Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  22. ↑ Brooks, Xan (May 19, 2013). "Cannes 2013: Blood Ties - first look review". The Guardian.
  23. ↑ Barone, Matt (September 6, 2013). "TIFF Review: Only Mila Kunis' Bad Brooklyn Accent Saves "Blood Ties" From Complete Dismissal". Complex.
  24. ↑ Halligan, Fionnuala (May 20, 2013). "Blood Ties - Reviews - Screen". Screen International.
  25. ↑ Aldrich, Ryland (March 20, 2014). "Review: BLOOD TIES Knots Up 1970s New York". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
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