Blood and Wine

Directed by Bob Rafelson, Blood and Wine details the complications that ensue after a wine merchant (Jack Nicholson’s Alex Gates) steals a million-dollar piece of jewelry from one of his clients. It’s familiar subject matter that’s employed to watchable yet increasingly erratic effect by Rafelson, and there’s little doubt, ultimately, that the movie fares best in its briskly-paced, unpredictable opening stretch – with the surprise-heavy narrative enhanced by a series of terrific performances. (Nicholson’s predictably stellar work remains an ongoing highlight, of course, and yet it’s Michael Caine, cast as a sleazy safe-cracker, that offers up the picture’s most indelible and flat-out entertaining turn.) There’s little doubt, then, that Blood and Wine‘s overall impact is affected by a disappointingly (and distressingly) sluggish midsection and second half, as the movie, written by Nick Villiers and Alison Cross, slowly-but-surely turns into a wheel-spinning character study to a fairly lamentable degree – with the violent climax, as a result, hardly able to pack the visceral, satisfying punch Rafelson has surely intended. The end result is a hit-and-miss film noir that generally does feel like it should be far more engaging and exciting, which is a shame, certainly, given that Blood and Wine does possess a number of thoroughly agreeable attributes.

**1/2 out of ****