‘Blood For Dust’ Review – A Frigid And Icy Labyrinth Of Deception

The new crime thriller Blood for Dust is a cold and calculated outlaw tale that should end the way it should. In other words, it is not necessarily the way you want it to be. In terms of a cinematic experience, the ending lacks a grandiose ending that is far from satisfying. However, that makes the experience all the more satisfying, if not liberating.

The script by writer David Ebeltoft (the upcoming You Were Once Called Queen City) and director Rod Blackhurst (Netflix’s Amanda Knox) is a frigid labyrinth of deception. At the surface, there is an icy and slippery slope that is a more complex and deliberate maze of criminal activities and deceit than first realized. Where every single move is carefully planned and executed with chilly precision.

Scoot McNairy (Narcos: Mexcio) stars as a sad-sack traveling salesman named Cliff, who barely has his head above a numbing snowdrift. Cliff travels along a route to Billings, Montana, to sell automated external defibrillators (AEDs). It’s not exactly a hotbed for sales, not to mention the minuscule percentage Cliff takes home from selling AEDs to gas stations and mechanics along the desolate ’90s interstate.

There’s a bit of mystery with the Cliff character. The writing is so good here; you learn about his past bit by bit, like pealing back a leaf on an artichoke, revealing another layer of intrigue. Eventually, this cost him his job in the process. That’s when he runs into Ricky (Game of Thrones player Kit Harington), a former colleague who knows all too well what Cliff is capable of when it comes to the confidence game.

And this is where the movie becomes bleak and gritty. Ricky recruits Cliff as a drug runner for a Montana mobster, John (Palm Royale‘s Josh Lucas), and his squad of ruthless minions. (If you have shadowy figures called Men In Black, John’s men would be named Men In Flannel.) Lucas is an eye-opening bad guy. He only has a few minutes of screen time, but he makes them count.

Speaking of bad guys, Ethan Suplee steals the show in a cameo. He accompanies Cliff on his first drug run down the interstate. Suplee owns the screen as a petrifying and frosty portrayal of stoic menace. These are the types of supporting turns that elevate Blood for Dust into some of the very best modern independent crime cinema today. Like McNairy, these parts are wildly effective and masterfully nuanced.

Yet, on the flip side of the coin, Blood for Dust is worth watching for Kit Harington’s captivating and charismatic turn, which is, at times, mesmerizing. Harington owns the screen. In his best performance on the silver screen since Game of Thrones, Harington puts Ricky’s character into the enigmatic stratosphere. The character draws the viewer in, which is needed since McNairy’s Cliff is continuously detached from the audience.

One minor complaint with Blood for Dust would be how Cliff’s character resolves the issue in the third act. (Pay special attention to two scenes where Cliff calls “colleagues” that don’t add up.) The plot device doesn’t establish a turning point intended in the third act, as the script thinks it does. However, the tone, pace, and performances elevate this crime film into a gripping, atmospheric experience for fans of the genre.

Blood for Dust will be available in select theaters and on Digital platforms on April 19, 2024, courtesy of The Avenue. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xczqIyLshww]