''Blood Work'' is a 2002 American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film produced, directed by, and starring

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

. The film co-stars

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

, Wanda De Jesús, and

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nom ...

. It is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestse ...

. Eastwood won the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

Plot

During a federal investigation into a local homicide, FBI Special Agent Terry McCaleb goes outside to address the media, but spots the so-called "code murderer" in the crowd. He chases the man and wounds him, but the chase ends when McCaleb suffers a heart attack. Retired, McCaleb lives in a Grand Banks motor cruiser on the

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

bay. He receives a second chance at life with a heart transplant. He is approached by Graciella Rivers; her sister, Gloria, was murdered during a robbery and she asks him to solve the case. He discovers that the heart transplanted into him was Gloria's. He has nightmares of the robbery during which Gloria was murdered. McCaleb, against the advice of his physician, decides to find the murderer with the help of houseboat neighbor Buddy and local police detective Jaye Winston. McCaleb's path leads to several suspects, but he eventually realizes that Buddy is the murderer. Buddy reveals that he has kidnapped Graciella and her nephew, Gloria's son Raymond. There is a shootout on a wrecked, marooned fishing boat. After McCaleb wounds Buddy a second time, Buddy attempts to reach for his gun only to be shot dead by McCaleb. Buddy's dying words are "I saved you." Graciella then reaches over and holds Buddy's face underwater, participating in his execution, getting justice for her murdered sister. McCaleb starts another new life with Graciella and Raymond.

Cast

as Terry McCaleb *

as Jasper "Buddy" Noone *

as Dr. Bonnie Fox * Wanda De Jesús as Graciella Rivers *

Tina Lifford Tina may refer to: People * Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places *Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia *Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...

as Detective Jaye Winston * Paul Rodriguez as Detective Ronaldo Arrango *

Dylan Walsh Dylan Walsh (born Charles Hunter Walsh; November 17, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sean McNamara in the FX television series ''Nip/Tuck'', Al Burns in ''Unforgettable'' and Sam Lane in ''Superman & Lois''. E ...

as Detective John Waller *

Rick Hoffman Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

as James Lockridge * Alix Koromzay as Mrs. Cordell *

Igor Jijikine Igor Vitalievich Jijikine (Russian: И́горь Вита́льевич Жижи́кин; born 8 October 1965) is a Russian-American actor working in Los Angeles and Moscow. Early life and career Jijikine was born in Moscow and from 1983 t ...

as Mikhail Bolotov *

Dina Eastwood Dina Marie Fisher, known professionally as Dina Eastwood, is an American reporter, news anchor, and actress. She is the former wife of actor and film director Clint Eastwood. She co-hosted the hidden camera television series ''Candid Camera'' (2 ...

as Reporter #1 *

Beverly Leech ''Mathnet'' is a segment on the children's television show ''Square One Television'' that follows the adventures of pairs of police mathematicians. It is a pastiche of ''Dragnet (1951 TV series), Dragnet''. Premise ''Mathnet'' is a pastiche of ...

as Reporter #2 *

Maria Quiban Maria Quiban (born Maria T. Aviso) is a weather anchor for KTTV in Los Angeles, California. Early life Quiban was born Maria T. Aviso in Cebu City, Philippines. At the age of 9, her family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where she attended Aiea Hi ...

as Gloria Torres * Brent Hinkley as Cab Driver

Production

''Blood Work'' was filmed in spring 2002 in Los Angeles and

, California, in 38 days.Hughes, p.185

Reception

''Blood Work'' received mixed reviews. It has a score of 54% on ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

'', saying it was "a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing." However,

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote while it was similar to many Eastwood films, "there is something comforting in seeing this old warhorse trot gamely out of the gate for yet another run on familiar turf." The film was not a box office success, grossing $31.8 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Clint Eastwood 2002 films 2002 crime thriller films 2000s mystery thriller films 2000s serial killer films American crime thriller films American police detective films American mystery thriller films American serial killer films Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Films about murderers Films based on mystery novels Films directed by Clint Eastwood Films produced by Clint Eastwood Films scored by Lennie Niehaus Films with screenplays by Brian Helgeland Films set in Los Angeles Films set in California Films set on boats Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Long Beach, California Films about organ transplantation Malpaso Productions films Warner Bros. films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films