Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
nbthalia
This is a small band of reviewers who have had the good fortune to experience this minor gem of a movie. I wasn't aware that this film was made for TV, so that was the first surprise. Further surprises followed as the film proceeded to develop into an absorbing and convincing melodrama. I can only agree with the other reviewers that this film scored very highly on most of the requirements of great entertainment. The acting was thoughtful, measured and very convincing. Was this because the actors were not "stars"? I would say absolutely so, because faces that are new to one do not distract from the thrust of the story, thus enhancing the sense of reality. The female lead, for me, managed to create one of the most erotic portrayals I have ever seen. She managed to smoulder without any apparent effort. Guess she's just a naturally sexy lady.
thinker1691
Somewhere in the annals of court cases, we have gone from the slow approach of Perry Mason's time, to the quick, try'em and fry'em dramas of today. In such cases, audiences become privy to the horrid details which modern audiences eagerly hunger for today. In past eras, we were offered only superficial illegalities and dry bed room antics of stereotypical cardboard characters. It appears nostalgia is not dead. The film is called " Evidence in Blood " and it stars perhaps one of the most underrated actors of the day. David Strathairn aptly plays Jackson Kinley a Pulitzer prize winning author who's invited to witness a state execution. The case seems closed when he receives information his older brother has passed away. Returning home, he sifts through his brother's personal items and discovers a collection of odds and ends which puzzle him enough to began a new investigation. When Dora Overton (Mary McDonnell) the executed man's daughter visits him, she confesses she believes, her father was innocent of the murder and wrongly convicted. With a gnawing suspicion she may have been right, Kinley begins to uncover a growing collection of evidence of a massive conspiracy by towns-folks. Despite the danger, drama and subtle excitement, the writer realizes his own family's culpability, beginning with his law-enforcement brother, covering up something which he realizes too late. With Strathairn shoring up the brunt of the story, the film does not provide sufficient support for his efforts. As a result, the movie supports itself with good courtroom settings, flash-back images and complex conversations which if you miss any of it, will leave you guessing. Nevertheless, fans will appreciate David Strathairn's work which stands accordingly. ****
baker-9
While it can be refreshing to see a mystery that isn't rushed and allows actors some breathing room, "Evidence of Blood" still takes too long to start putting all it's pieces together, and then rushes to finish things up. The climax is certainly gripping (though very contrived), but it still leaves some questions hanging in the air. Was the late Sheriff murdered? The film certainly hints at it more than once. And what was the real connection -if any - between the murdered woman and the man who was wrongly accused of her death? And the film drops the device of having Strathairn's character watch the video interview of a serial killer he's using as a book subject. That device doesn't illuminate the writer's character all that much, and it's existence only seems to matter for the killer's line "You never know who you really are" (or something like that), which figures at the film's denouement.David Strathairn is an excellent actor with the uncanny ability to subtly make his characters seem more complex than they may be on paper (certainly the case here). Mary McDonnell does well enough, and both she and Strathairn are a good match (though I'll admit that Strathairn had more sexual chemistry with Julianne Moore in a brief scene in "A Map Of The World" than he does with McDonnell.
Robert-114
I rented this film without knowing anything about it and not expecting much more than a mediocre mystery. However, it's actually a very well done film, both in terms of story and character development. The story takes awhile to unfold as the first part of the film is focused on building characters and a sense of the town in which they live. This in itself is interesting as it comes across in a natural way and gives the viewer the feeling that these people are real human beings. Then we begin to follow a trail of clues both in the present and through flashbacks to the era of the crime. A mistake and a crime happened a long time ago on an abandoned country road. One man has been executed because of it. Others are forced to hide the truth, either to protect themselves or the people they care about. I can't say too much more without giving away the ending, but I think you'll find yourself pulled deeply into the story just as I did. If you enjoyed "Lone Star" then you'll probably enjoy this film too. Please don't dismiss it because it's a made for TV movie as it's certainly better than many theater films.
