A woman’s panicked decision to cover up an accidental killing spins out of control when her conscience demands she return the dead man’s body to his family.
It’s rarer than you think when an ultra-low-budget independent film succeeds on an aesthetic, thematic, and perfectly cohesive level. “Blood on Her Name” elicits held breaths with its gritty backwoods-crime-noir thriller. Lead actress Bethany Anne Lind anchors the film as a strung-out mother trying to protect her son from a long line of bad influences (including herself.) While a movie like this could rest on a parade of plot devices or trot out some useless Deus ex machina to tie everything up it succeeds beyond that. “Blood on Her Name” is a perfect southern crime thriller focused on a manic woman’s attempts to cover up a murder, and in the process, spirals ever downwards. It succeeds in marrying great performances with intentional camera work, sound design, and editing to bring a sense of tension to the overall product.
Bethany Anne Lind plays Leigh, a down-on-her-luck mother who runs her ex-husbands auto garage. After she commits murder (the details of which slowly reveal themselves to you) she tries to cover it up. The more she works the more she unravels, questioning if she did the right thing and if it will even work. Leigh has to confront her relationship with her father throughout her spiral and question the legacy she leaves behind with her son.
Where would this movie be without Bethany Anne Lind? She carries the movie on her back emoting her way through a powerful gamut of feelings. The first thing we see in this movie is her face, in shock. The first twenty minutes alone cover such a wide variety I knew I was going to be hooked. Her acting conveys that sense of truth actors are always talking about, convincing us of the role they’re playing. When Will Patton joins everything becomes grittier. Patton’s character lends an air of western grit to the whole thing in the vein of “No Country For Old Men” or “Hell or High Water.” His character’s transformation feels a little unearned, script-wise, but Patton sells us on his role so vigorously that I just go with it. A strong mention should go to the supporting cast: Jimmy Gonzales, Jack Andrews, and Elisabeth Röhm, who lifts the entire movie whenever her presence enters the screen.
What makes this movie so intriguing is its lack of setup. Rather than lead up to the crime, we begin the story immediately after and learn the circumstances of the situation by following the story almost in real-time. First time director (and writer) Matthew Pope withholds information in a tactical manner designed to turn your emotions on their heads at just the right moment. This style guarantees narrative suspense and helps propel the audience even when it feels slow. A new beat waits just around the corner to turn this script on its head for audiences. Similarly, this movie sinks into dream sequences seamlessly, helping blend the line between reality and dream. In fact, these dream sequences read as more memory than a dream.
Sound-wise this movie’s sparse on sound effects, adding some music to round out its collection. The tried-and-true “wake up to the sound of thunder” motif occurs multiple times. Thankfully, they commit fully to the sound mix and never back off from loud noises or whispered words. Admittedly, I lost some of Will Patton’s dialogue but just knowing his grizzled voice was saying something intense served its purpose for me. I can imagine that would grate on somebody else.
The beginning rings as a crime thriller, and somewhat of a noir. The emotional performances take place in a tight shot on the face forcing us to confront the horror of this crime up close and personal. Its wide aspect ratio leaves plenty of side room for others to interpret. With the stale yellow color palette of a street light, the cinematography of the movie echoes old western sentiments. Finally, by the end, our heroine enters a literal old west style shoot out, shot exactly the same. In a neo-western fashion, this movie brings home its gritty aspects with a closing shot of Leigh’s face.
This movie works on an aesthetic level. It utilizes careful editing, strong performances, and the occasional sound cue to stitch together a rock-solid first film for Matthew Pope. That it works so well without feeling like its budget means success on so many levels. If I were Pope I’d reach out to Taylor Sheridan and show him this movie. It’s a revelation for everyone involved. I loved watching this movie unfold and would happily recommend you do too. I look forward to whatever Matthew Pope does next.
In Theaters Friday, February 28th
