''Blood Work'' is a 2002 American mystery

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

starring, produced, and directed by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

. It co-stars

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

, Wanda De Jesús, and

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

. The story is an adaptation of the 1998 novel of the same name by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

. Eastwood won the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

for his work on the film.

Plot

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Special Agent Terrell "Terry" McCaleb, a veteran

criminal profiler Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and has been used by investigators to link cases that may have been committed by the same perpetrato ...

, leads a joint FBI-

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

task force to capture the "Code Killer", a serial murderer who leaves taunting messages for McCaleb. While addressing reporters at the latest crime scene, McCaleb sees what he believes to be the killer in the crowd and pursues him only to suffer a near-fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Two years later, the now retired McCaleb lives out of his fishing boat, ''Following Sea'', on the

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

bay, having received a heart transplant. He is approached by waitress 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. Struggling with

survivor's guilt Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) happens when individuals feel guilty after they survive a tragic, near death, or traumatic event when others perished. It ...

, McCaleb agrees to help her. Against the advice of his physician, McCaleb conducts an illegal investigation into Gloria's death, aided by his

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

neighbor Jasper "Buddy" Noone and a former colleague,

LASD The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff, sheriff's department in the United ...

Detective Jaye Winston. He discovers that the killer committed a previous murder and identifies two potential suspects, both of whom wind up dead. Eventually, he realizes that the Code Killer is responsible, and pieces together that he and Noone are one and the same. Buddy confesses that he killed Gloria to ensure that McCaleb would be saved. Declaring his intention to "resume the game" between them, Buddy reveals that he has kidnapped Graciella and her nephew, Gloria's son Raymond. McCaleb forces him to reveal that they are trapped on a wrecked

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

cutter in the bay. He rescues them and shoots Buddy before Graciella holds his head underwater to get revenge for her sister. With his past behind him, McCaleb starts a relationship with Graciella and takes her and Raymond out on his boat.

Cast

Production

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

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, in 38 days.Hughes, p.185

Reception

''Blood Work'' received mixed reviews. ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

'' shows a score of 51%, calling it "a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing."

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', '' Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 a box office disappointment, grossing $31.8 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million.

References

External links

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