Bloodshot, 2013.
Written and Directed by Raoul Girard.
Starring Danny Dyer, Keith Allen, Zoe Grisedale, Craig Conway and Jason Durr.
SYNOPSIS:
A young man who works for horror and action films falls in love with a strange and gorgeous model just arrived from America. However this mysterious woman hides a dark, moving secret in her heart…
Everyone’s favourite East End lad, Danny Dyer has spent a large amount of his career insulting people in all manner of colourful cockney ways. With such a pedigree, and perhaps a dwindling film career, it was no surprise that he found himself on Albert Square. That said, Dyer hasn’t forgotten his films and Bloodshot hits stores this Christmas period. So is the gift every boy wants, or is it a lump of black coal for naughty children?
Dyer stars as Philip. Here however he’s less gangsta, so it’s Philip instead of just Phil (or Fiwl). He’s a horror movie make-up and prosphetics designer. One night he finds what appears to be a vagrant, but beautiful woman alone in the park. She speaks in tongues. Philip helps her and persuades her back to his flat where she can rest and recover, as she’s clearly been traumatized.
As the film progresses it becomes clear she has a dark past which may catch up with her and Philip, who begins falling for her.
Bloodshot is a strange film indeed. In some ways it’s an interesting change of pace for Dyer whose character has his own issues and whose penchant for creating the disturbing could well be in part to some of his own repressed memories. For Dyer it’s a role that’s more introverted than they typically extroverted sort of characters he plays. Unforunately for him the film is largely boring, meandering from scene to scene without much in the way of development or logic. Indeed the film takes all too long to get to the heart of Jane’s (Zoe Grisedale) past.
The remainder of the cast are hit and miss, though Keith Allen brings some of the films rare interesting moments with his strangely cheesy portrayal of a morally obtruse pyschiatrist (and Phil’s confidant). For a film that takes itself far too seriously for the most part, there are some strange cartoony flourishes.
With a lacklustre script and dull visual palet, Bloodshot has little of interest for the viewer to invest in. Even at a fairly modest 106 minutes, it still feels like a long old slog. It’s understandable to see why Dyer would take on such a role, given it’s a departure from his usual, but it’s a shame the rest of the film couldn’t have been as interesting. Die hard Dyerites (if there is such a thing) will probably miss the guns and constant bellows of “muppet!”
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E&v=Z2vq4CudKRk&feature=player_embedded
Originally published December 26, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
