Blood for Dust
Dustin Chase
Go West, they say, and Hollywood sure is listening. Gorgeous landscapes, harsh terrain, and states like Wyoming and Montana become supporting characters instead of simple locations. Rod Blackhurst’s latest film Blood for Dust takes the viewer on an alternate route of the West, the region’s most lackluster and bland cities. This slow-burn crime thriller is set in wintery months, accented by leftover snow and brown exteriors, featuring characters as bleak as their surroundings. It’s a far cry from whatever Yellowstone-inspired spinoff you are currently watching. The Fargo comparisons could be made (although more of an insult), but the only humor found here rides above Kit Harington’s lip.
A suicide in Boise leads us 17 months down the road to Sheridan, Wyoming, where Cliff (Scoot McNairy) makes a living selling whatever is currently in the trunk of his car. These days, it’s CPR equipment, a hard sell to the gruff small business owners of the West. Following the death of his kid, Cliff and his wife Amy (Nora Zehetner) are just trying to survive by any means possible. In one of his stopovers, Cliff downs a greasy burger and fries with his back turned to the lackluster strippers in his buddy Ricky’s bar. “Always with your back to the action,” Ricky (Harington) digs at his friend. “I sell products that sell themselves,” jabbing at Cliff’s lack of success. The handlebar mustache entrepreneur offers his introverted salesman friend in on a drug run because no one will suspect Cliff of doing anything illegal.
"Less turns out to be more in the case of this film."
As bad scripts go, McNairy’s Cliff avoids taking such a risky job but is written into a corner where it’s the only viable option. McNairy is no stranger to these types of roles, a nervous, underestimated loner with a conscience. He disappears into the roles as talented character actors do. Game of Thrones Kit Harington, on the other hand, stands out like a sore thumb. The weakest element to an already sluggish movie, Harington pushes against the grain of where his talent lies. Blood for Dust might have been a more complex film if the actors had switched roles. Josh Lucas and Stephen Dorff appear in what amounts to glorified cameo performances.
Aside from McNairy’s performance, impressive tension is built by an outlying score and the use of silence on the road. Less turns out to be more in the case of this film. There isn’t some intricate mystery to solve here; it’s just simple events unfolding exactly the way audiences might expect based on other films of the same ilk. A bullet-filled shootout is the climax filmmakers assume viewers want after teasing “the worst-case scenario,” as Ricky puts it. We already know who lives and who dies before one shot is fired, and that’s a problem. Blood for Dust is without originality and about as discardable as the popcorn bag you were munching on.
Final Thought
“Blood for Dust” is not only set in the early 1990s but contains all the outdated attributes found in VHS bargain bin crime thrillers from that decade.