Bob Rafelson, one of the founding fathers of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s, heading towards the end of his filmmaking career decided to complete his unofficial trilogy with Jack Nicholson. After the iconic Five Easy Pieces and the poetic drama The King of Marvin Gardens, Rafelson directed Blood and Wine, a neo-noir thriller telling a complex story of a wine merchant who joins forces with a professional safe-cracker to steal a diamond necklace worth a million dollars. The heist and the process of selling the necklace are pivotal to the film, but they share the spotlight with the complicated relationships of the characters, especially within the dysfunctional family of the merchant.
With expectedly strong performances from Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine, as well as great input from the likes of Judy Davis, Stephen Dorff and Jennifer Lopez, Blood and Wine is a thriller that works well thanks to its developed characters. The screenplay, written by Nick Villiers and Alison Cross, offers an entangled storyline with plenty of twists and turns, all of which are carried on the shoulders of the perfect cast. Dark in tone, violent in execution, Rafelson’s picture is an unfairly overlooked gem from the nineties.
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