Blood Work (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Blood Work

| image = Bloodworkposter.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Clint Eastwood

| producer = Clint Eastwood

| screenplay = Brian Helgeland

| based_on = {{Based on|Blood Work|Michael Connelly}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Lennie Niehaus

| cinematography = Tom Stern

| editing = Joel Cox

| studio = Malpaso Productions

| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures

| released = {{film date|2002|8|9}}

| runtime = 110 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $50 million

| gross = $31.8 millionHughes, p.186

}}

Blood Work is a 2002 American mystery thriller film starring, produced, and directed by Clint Eastwood. It co-stars Jeff Daniels, Wanda De Jesús, and Anjelica Huston. The story is an adaptation of the 1998 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly.

Eastwood won the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the Venice Film Festival for his work on the film.{{Cite web|title=Venice Film Festival (2002)|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000681/2002/1/|access-date=2020-12-19|website=IMDb|language=en}}

Plot

FBI Special Agent Terrell "Terry" McCaleb, a veteran criminal profiler, leads a joint FBI-LAPD task force to capture the "Code Killer", a serial murderer who leaves taunting messages for McCaleb. While addressing reporters at the latest crime scene, McCaleb sees what he believes to be the killer in the crowd and pursues him only to suffer a near-fatal heart attack.

Two years later, the now retired McCaleb lives out of his fishing boat, Following Sea, on the Long Beach bay, having received a heart transplant. He is approached by waitress Graciella Rivers; her sister, Gloria, was murdered during a robbery and she asks him to solve the case. He discovers that the heart transplanted into him was Gloria's. Struggling with survivor's guilt, McCaleb agrees to help her.

Against the advice of his physician, McCaleb conducts an illegal investigation into Gloria's death, aided by his alcoholic neighbor Jasper "Buddy" Noone and a former colleague, LASD Detective Jaye Winston. He discovers that the killer committed a previous murder and identifies two potential suspects, both of whom wind up dead. Eventually, he realizes that the Code Killer is responsible, and pieces together that he and Noone are one and the same. Buddy confesses that he killed Gloria to ensure that McCaleb would be saved.

Declaring his intention to "resume the game" between them, Buddy reveals that he has kidnapped Graciella and her nephew, Gloria's son Raymond. McCaleb forces him to reveal that they are trapped on a wrecked Coast Guard cutter in the bay. He rescues them and shoots Buddy before Graciella holds his head underwater to get revenge for her sister. With his past behind him, McCaleb starts a relationship with Graciella and takes her and Raymond out on his boat.

Cast

{{castlist|

Clint Eastwood as Terrell "Terry" McCaleb
Jeff Daniels as Jasper "Buddy" Noone
Anjelica Huston as Dr. Bonnie Fox
Wanda De Jesús as Graciella Rivers
Tina Lifford as LAPD Detective Jaye Winston
Paul Rodriguez as LAPD Detective Ronaldo Arrango
Dylan Walsh as LAPD Detective John Waller
Rick Hoffman as James Lockridge
Alix Koromzay as Mrs. Cordell
Igor Jijikine as Mikhail Bolotov
Glenn Morshower as Captain
Dina Eastwood as Reporter #1
Beverly Leech as Reporter #2
Maria Quiban as Gloria Torres
Brent Hinkley as Cab Driver

}}

Production

Blood Work was filmed in spring 2002 in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, in 38 days.Hughes, p.185

Reception

Blood Work received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes shows a score of 51%, calling it "a routine, but competently made thriller marred by lethargic pacing."{{Cite web |title=Blood Work {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_work |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}} However, A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote while it was similar to many Eastwood films, "there is something comforting in seeing this old warhorse trot gamely out of the gate for yet another run on familiar turf."[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904E6DF173AF93AA3575BC0A9649C8B63 Times review] {{registration required}}

The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $31.8 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million.{{Citation|title=Blood Work (2002)|publisher=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309377/|language=en|access-date=2020-12-19}}