Customer Reviews

Evidence of Blood [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this movie. Though the pace is a bit slower than your run-of-the-mill murder mystery, that pace allowed for some very realistic character development. The viewer is drawn into the story--I hated to stop the tape to put my son to bed. The brooding quality never got so dark and heavy that it was simply painful to watch. Instead, it just kept you going, waiting for the next turn. I rented the movie because I saw David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell on the cover, not because I knew anything about the movie. It was a true gem. The viewer starts to figure out the plot just as the main character figures things out. The acting is so good, you can see each discovery move across his face just as you learn about it. The mood is created with absolute conviction. Everyone involved did a superb job. If you're up for a GOOD (not mediocre) mystery, check out this video.

Murder stories with a Southern setting have a dark and eerie sense all their own and EVIDENCE OF BLOOD is no exception. This finely wrought film boasts a good story line with enough ongoing kinks resulting in new insights to keep you glued to the screen. David Strathairn as a writer of mysteries returns to his hometown, meets his newly departed best friend's girl (Mary McDonnell, and begins to unravel an old murder that happened in his childhood. The mysteries surrounding this rather unlikely and bizarre trial and execution of McDonnell's father leave some of the townsfolk silently confused, but it is clear that the truth behind the grisly deed is better left unknown if the smalltown mentality is to be unrumpled. But this story is about much more than a retrospective surveillance of a foggy murder. It is more about the mysteries of early childhood that are buried with every loss of a relative who could bear witness. There is a dark part to each of us, whether self created or victimized. Seeking to discover our true identity can be a very frightening journey. Strathairn and McDonnell give sensitive performances as does the large cast of supporting characters. One jolt here: though everyone speaks with either an Appalachian or Southern accent, we never know the location of this odd town - just that it is somewhere north of Alabama! And the fact that the film was shot in Toronto doesn't give a clue. A good mystery for an evening of escape behind safely locked doors of your home.

Here is an incredible tale of the past haunting the present. An author who specializes in the first person accounts of murderers returns to his home town to attend the funeral of his best friend. His friend had been the local sheriff and had been in the midst of an investigation of a thirty-year old case when he suffered a heart attack. The author, played by David Strathairn, decides to continue the investigation on his own. The case involved the murder of a young girl by a local WWII veteran; said veteran having been tried and executed. The veteran's daughter, portrayed so believably by Mary McDonnell, insists that her father was not guilty of the crime. During his investigation a love affair develops between the two. Although, no one attempts to forcefully disuade the author, he nonetheless encounters the resistance to revealing the past that is prevelant in a small southern town. He persevers and unravels a twisted and awful truth that includes his own family and his own sense of who he is. The film presents all the facts, not in order but in the end all becomes crystal clear. Great surprise ending.

I loved this movie. It does have a slower, more deliberate pace than most but this is necessary to lay out all of the intricate details of a 30 year-old murder mystery (nicely done with flashbacks)and also to explore the characters. I think both David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell are incredible actors (in another realm, actually) and the supporting cast is also very strong. I noticed it was filmed in the Toronto area which is very close to me - too bad they didn't have a sunny day for any shoots, but maybe that was intentional! If you enjoy a good mystery and appreciate truly fine acting, you'll enjoy this movie.

Moody, dark, southern, rich in suspense and captivating characters. Do you know how many movies David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell have made together? Beautifully matched talent. The story is built carefully and slowly, with the kind of twist in the climax following climax that satisfies. It is truly a worthy story that deserves more attention and more air time than it has obviously had. I wish it would be reintroduced even on the oxygen channel, or lifetime, or hallmark, somewhere so that enough interest might land it on a dvd recording.

This made for TV-er is Okay but it doesn't reach any new heights.

Here's the scoop. David Strathairn plays a true crime writer in New York who visits his home town in Alabama predicated by the death of an old friend. At the behest of his deceased buddy's girlfriend (Mary McDonnell) he gets caught up in investigating a murder which took place when he was a child. A suspicion grows that the wrong man might have been convicted and executed.

This is Okay. It's interesting seeing Strathairn in his pre-grey haired days. He does a decent enough job. Mary McDonnell, on the other hand, wears her typical silent suffering face throughout. Seems to me if you've seen her in one movie, you've seen everything she can do. All the supporting cast are decent. One of the problems here might have to do with the fact it was made for TV. Needing to be timed for commercial breaks, the evidence unfolds at such a regular pace you can set your watch to it. Plus, in similar movies, the Strathairn character would have a true threat to not proceed in the investigation. Here, he gets leaned on a bit, but nothing bad enough to make him consider packing up and going home. And the final pieces fall together in a clumsy, revelatory manner which smacked of someone looking at their watch and saying "Hey! We're running out of clock." So there is an information avalanche in the final few minutes.

This is actually a decent and clever story. I guess the handling was a bit too pedestrian for my taste. If you're looking for something mildly diverting this isn't bad, but there are a lot better out there.

So I really didn't know much about this movie when I ordered it. Just that it had a great starring cast! I was a little upset that I could only get it on VHS, but I am so happy that I bought it anyways! It is a great movie! The cast was wonderful and I've already watched the movie twice since recieving it last week! The movie is a bit slow, but I think that's part of what makes it great. You get to figure things out along with the characters. And even though it's mostly about solving an old murder mystery, it's also about the lives of the two main characters and how their lives intersected long before they knew it. It's a wonderful story and a must watch!

Ever get a large present that was actually a small gift in several boxes? You unwrapped each box wondering just how big the actual gift is and what could it possibly be. You patiently goe through each layer in suspense of when you will get to the actual gift. This is such a present. It may be a small TV production, but it is well worth the wait to see the surprise at the end. I hope this movie comes out on DVD. I just used instant watch at Netflix and was surprised I had not heard of it before. Well done mystery with a good cast, directing, and production. Although not fast paced it keeps your interest throughout and slowly builts to a shocking revelation. The story involves a writer that mainly focuses on criminal cases and murder mysteries. After viewing the execution of the murderer in his most recent book endeavor he receives news that his best friend, the town sheriff, has passed away. He returns to his home town to attend his funeral. As he goes through his belongings he finds out he was investigating an old case of murder that was supposedly solved long ago and that he wished to inform him about. As the writer tries to find out more he runs into some roadblocks and some that are anxious to help. The ending is surprising and illuminating for him and brings the truth of what really happened to the surface. If you enjoyed this be sure to see Murder in the First (Snap Case).

CA Luster

This title popped up as a recommended watch on a movie rental site my husband and I subscribe to and when I saw that David Strathairn of Steel Toes was in it, I decided to give it a try. Though this is a made-for-TV drama, it is one of the better murder mysteries I've watched on the small screen. The movie unfolds quite slowly, but I think this is necessary to enable the viewer to puzzle out the mystery leading to a truly gripping climax.

David Strathairn plays Pulitzer prize-winning author Jackson Kinley who returns to his hometown somewhere in Georgia to attend the funeral of his old buddy Ray, who was the town's sheriff. Kinley suspects something is amiss when he discovers that Ray was working on a old case (long thought to have been an open and shut case). The case dates back almost forty years, involving the murder of a young teenage girl, a crime for which Dora Overton's (Mary McDonnell) father was found guilty of and executed. As Kinley digs deeper, he uncovers some startling revelations that point to a conspiracy involving some prominent townspeople. Kinley also finds himself being plagued by nightmares that take him back to his own childhood. Could Kinley's long-suppressed memories actually provide some clues to the case he's working on?

The story is well-written and though it takes a while to take off, every scene enables the viewer to piece together what happened forty years ago, so that the viewer is eventually able to figure things out. The acting by Strathairn is credibly done, but credit also goes to the rest of the cast, including McDonnell, and even the other supporting actors such as Jackie Burroughs who plays Kinley's Granny Dollar (I was actually surprised to see two cast member's of [[ASIN:B000PMGNI6 Road to Avonlea: The Complete Seventh Volume, i.e. Jackie Burroughs who played Hetty King in the series, and David Ferry who played banker Stuart McRae in the seventh season of RTA). There's even the actor from Friday the 13th - just a bit of trivia there.

On the whole, this is a leisurely-paced murder mystery that rewards the patient viewer.

Many of the actors are cross-overs from Friday the 13th, the Series. Including: Chris Wiggins (Jack Marshack), Sean McCann (Johnnie's "Pop"), David Ferry (the punchy boxer in the boxing-gloves episode), and Bernard Behrens (Robert E. Lee in the Civil-War/time-travel episode). The music and overall atmosphere are similar to the show: anxious and brooding, with thin faces and vivid colors.