Evidence of Blood (1998)

Perfectly adorable

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I like David Strathairn. I'm also a writer who loves small towns and has an interest in the South. So theoretically, this movie is my dream come true. It's about a writer who returns to his small Southern town. But it was really low budget and slow.Strathairn is not known for his range.This role was a testimonial to that fact. But for whatever reasons, I just love the guy. I guess it's his sensitive face and the intensity he reflects.I also hate it when non-Southerners try to feign a Southern accent. David did not attempt this here. I suppose it could be explained that his character had been living in N.Y. for years. But Mary McDonnell did it, and it almost ruined the film for me. Ugh! I think a lot of the other actors were faking the accent too and the production values of the flashbacks, etc. were not very good. The plot seemed complex and stacked with clichés. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two leads either.Having said all that, I did enjoy the setting, regardless of the fact that it was filmed in Canada and not in Georgia. I particularly liked the depiction of the old country homes and the acute familiarity of everyone with each other.If you have patience and appreciate moody "who dunnit" films, you were probably appreciate this one. I think it was made for T.V., so no real sex or violence, although there were hints of both.

A good litmus test of whether a movie is good is to ask, if it didn't have stars, would this have been a TV movie? Evidence of Blood is a TV movie where one asks, if this film had big stars, would this have made a good feature? Yes, it would.Filmed in Canada, "Evidence of Blood" is the story of writer Jason Kinley (David Strathairn) returning to his home town in Georgia and becoming involved in a 40-year murder case. The case is the murder of a young girl, Ellie Dinker, whose body was never found. Jackson's recently deceased childhood friend Ray had been looking into it, and left him a clue - what looks like a twig or small tree branch.Dora Overton (McDonnell), who owns a bar, was Ray's girlfriend. Her father was convicted of the murder and executed, but she doesn't believe he did it and wanted the truth. She still wants it. Jackson, drawn to her, says he'll find it.As Jackson talks to people who were involved in the case or who remember the people, a picture emerges, and it's a strange one. There is a lot more to the case than meets the eye. And Jackson begins to realize that there's a lot more to him too, as he has a recurring dream that he can't shake.Moody, atmospheric, well acted drama with a few twists that make for a fascinating story. The film goes back and forth from the trial or events leading up to the murder and back to the present day, with Jackson sometimes getting flashes of memory.This was streaming on Netflix, then it left and came back. I'm not sure what the story is, but this film apparently isn't on DVD. I hope that it is soon and that others have an opportunity to see it.

I just happened to turn this on and was very pleasantly surprised. The actors were understated if anything and the plot was very interesting. I came up with several solutions before the ending revealed I was so very wrong. Even Mary McC's accent wasn't too bad. Recommend it highly.

I rented this film without knowing anything about it and not expecting much more than a mediocre mystery. However, it's actually a very well done film, both in terms of story and character development. The story takes awhile to unfold as the first part of the film is focused on building characters and a sense of the town in which they live. This in itself is interesting as it comes across in a natural way and gives the viewer the feeling that these people are real human beings. Then we begin to follow a trail of clues both in the present and through flashbacks to the era of the crime. A mistake and a crime happened a long time ago on an abandoned country road. One man has been executed because of it. Others are forced to hide the truth, either to protect themselves or the people they care about. I can't say too much more without giving away the ending, but I think you'll find yourself pulled deeply into the story just as I did. If you enjoyed "Lone Star" then you'll probably enjoy this film too. Please don't dismiss it because it's a made for TV movie as it's certainly better than many theater films.