The concept of ‘new’ is reaching an unparalleled importance in today’s American culture. The newest, freshest and brightest stars, movies and cars are the rage. Yesterday’s news is just that. With this in mind, it was quite refreshing to see one of Hollywood’s most crafty and dependable veterans, Clint Eastwood, come through in Blood Work and make a film about a damaged and disabled lead, Terry McCaleb; the farthest from new and fresh as one could possibly be.

McCaleb (Eastwood) is a retired FBI profiler who had to have a heart transpla.html>spla.html>spla.html>spla.html>splant several years back to stay alive. Any undo stress or anxiety are potential killers for McCaleb. And thus he lives on a houseboat, far from the public eye, even further from his former life as a profiler. This quiet existence changes when Graciella Rivers (Wanda De Jesus) appears on his doorstep. Learning that he received Graciella’s sister’s heart after she was murdered, McCaleb agrees to look into the still unsolved case.

Despite my best efforts not to, I find it hard not to deem Blood Work an unconventional thriller. Compared to even Eastwood’s most recent works as director, Blood Work follows a significantly slower pace–McCaleb is a profiler and hence does significant amounts of research and homework on camera–but this is part of what made it enjoyable for me.

If I want to see a film filled with explosions, car chases and a hardcore lead taunting his partner’s mother during a gun battle, I know exactly where to turn. Sadly the opposite of this isn’t always true: slower paced, mysteries with actual clues, realizations and smart conclusions don’t exactly pop up with any regularity. With Blood Work available now though, the situation has shifted slightly. I quite enjoyed this movie.

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yes, it's true:

Clint Eastwood’s first name ‘Clint’ is short for "Clinton’.