Blood Ties is a muscular and old-fashioned drama of crime and family. It is the first English-language film by French actor and director Guillaume Canet, perhaps known best behind the camera for the art-house hit Tell No One. He shares writing credit here with director James Gray, who has developed a small, but potent cult fan base for his films set in and around Brighton Beach, including We Own the Night and Two Lovers. For his fans, his authentic, soulful, and urban touch overshadows any repetition in regard to content and location. This new film bears a strong resemblance to We Own Night: the focus is once again on brothers, one an honest detective (Billy Crudup) and the other a career criminal (Clive Owen), and their painful bid to understand and forgive one another amidst escalating tension and violence.

This is not a hard film for a cynic to criticize, so I am not surprised by the mixed reviews. Though played by recognizable performers such as Marion Cotillard (the director's wife), Mila Kunis, and Zoe Saldana, none of the female characters are complex, functioning only as girlfriends and wives, betrayers and prostitutes. For Gray, it could be described as a cinematic greatest-hits record, constructed from characters, confrontations, and themes lifted from his overall oeuvre. And understatement is not always the film's strong suit: note how a scene in which one character, a former drug user, relapses is set to none other than "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground. Despite the flaws, however, Blood Ties is entertaining, overflowing with period-perfect design choices and exciting heist and chase sequences. And as the brothers, both stars are riveting; they give the domestic dysfunction depth and grit, ensuring the audience invests in their shared fate. Owen in particular shines as a man who motions at times toward nobility and redemption, but always finds himself turning again to murder and theft out of desperation and self-hatred.

B

I hate to say it but it's just an overlong bore. There's absolutely nothing special about this movie, just stuff we've seen a thousand times before. I liked Crudups performance but I thought Owen was miscast. Also, this movie probably features the most boring car chase ever.