Blood Work (2002)

Still recovering from a heart transplant, a retired FBI profiler returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Michael Connelly (novel), Brian Helgeland (screenplay)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Anjelica Huston

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Terry McCaleb
Jeff Daniels	...	Jasper 'Buddy' Noone
Anjelica Huston	...	Dr. Bonnie Fox
Wanda De Jesus	...	Graciella Rivers (as Wanda De Jesús)
Tina Lifford	...	Detective Jaye Winston
Paul Rodriguez	...	Detective Ronaldo Arrango
Dylan Walsh	...	Detective John Waller
Mason Lucero	...	Raymond Torres
Gerry Becker	...	Mr. Toliver
Rick Hoffman	...	James Lockridge
Alix Koromzay	...	Mrs. Cordell
Igor Jijikine	...	Mikhail Bolotov
Dina Eastwood	...	Reporter #1
Beverly Leech	...	Reporter #2
June Kyoto Lu	...	Mrs. Kang (as June Kyoko Lu)

Storyline

Retired FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Eastwood), who has recently had a heart transplant, is hired by Graciela Rivers (De Jesus), to investigate the death of her sister, Gloria, who happens to have given McCaleb his heart. On the case, he soon deduces that the killer, who staged the murder to look like a random robbery, may actually be a serial killer Terry was trailing for years in the FBI. Can the elderly and feeble McCaleb, who had intended to spend his retirement living on his boat in the Los Angeles harbor, and who can't drive, and has to nap regularly, muster up the endurance to find the killer?

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Plot Keywords:

hooded sweatshirt | shot in the back of one's head | 2000s | title same as book | villain not really dead cliche | 

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Taglines:

The key to catching a killer is only a heartbeat away.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deuda de sangre

Filming Locations:

2527 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,312,413, 11 August 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$26,199,517, 13 October 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malpaso Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The type of gun that Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) had was an eight shot .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson defensive revolver with a fluted cylinder. The make and model is also known as a Smith & Wesson Performance Center & Lew Horton Distributing 627-PC or Smith & Wesson Performance Model 627 8-Shot. The weapon was first released in 1997 and has been nicknamed "The Bloodwork Gun". As Smith & Wesson manufacture the Magnum gun, the use of this brand of it in this film can be considered a reference to Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' screen character, who was famous for using the Magnum.

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Goofs

As Arrango and Waller are floundering in the water at night, Arrango tells McCaleb he needs to come to a crime scene right away. However, when they arrive it is bright daylight and Arrango and Waller are both dry, indicating that they took several hours to get to the scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Detective Arango: [referring to McCaleb at crime scene] Okay, listen. Whatever happens, it'll his face on the front page.

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Connections

Referenced in Ruby & Quentin (2003)

User Reviews

All around enjoyable murder mystery and human interest drama

In "Blood Work" Eastwood plays an FBI agent, recovering from a heart transplant, who is asked by the sister of the murdered woman whose heart he received to find her killer. The result is surprisingly even and interesting murder mystery in which we see Eastwood piece together the evidence pointing to the killer while dealing with heart transplant issues and making nice with his pro bono client. The film has fewer plot holes than most murder mysteries; leans more toward human interest than derring-dos; and is another example of Eastwood successfully pushing out the age envelope in a self-directed film product. Recommended for more mature couch potatoes into murder mysteries. (B)