Only in Hollywood: Blood Work

Clint Eastwood has been a movie star for 40 some years and was on television before that. In all his hundred or so appearances, Clint has often played the man of action, a good portion of which concerned the maverick police detective tracking down psychotics or terrorists. Probably the top performance of his career in this genre, at least in my estimation, was 1993’s In the Line of Fire, a tense drama helmed by director Wolfgang Peterson who also did an incredible job on Das Boot. I’ve seen many of Eastwood’s performances starting with the 1964 spaghetti western Fistful of Dollars, based on the Kurasawa film Yojimbo.

One thing I have never deluded myself about (I think) is the storyline of an Eastwood movie. They are almost without exception based on pure fantasy. From the very first, Clint has essentially portrayed superheroes (or maybe antiheroes) as his bread and butter. Only in Hollywood does the protagonist gun down as many bad guys as comes with a six shooter that never runs out of bullets. Only in Hollywood does a detective get personal challenges from psychos who want to match wits. Only in Hollywood does the detective get his picture on the front page of the newspaper with his latest bust the talk of the town. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t look for real life in these films, they are pure escapist entertainment to me.

Clint Eastwood has also served as his own director for a good many films and has grown into the job admirably. He hit his stride with 1976’s The Outlaw Josey Wales and has had a string of successes that many directors would like to claim. As an actor, Eastwood has also became aware of his own mortality, like his predecessor John Wayne (The Shootist) did, and has cast himself in more suitable roles trying to grow old gracefully.

Blood Work I found a pleasing continuation of the maverick cop genre, with 72-year old Eastwood essaying retired FBI profiler Terry McCaleb. McCaleb had a heart transplant after his heart gave out during a foot chase two years earlier. The twist, as there invariably is in one of these films, is that McCaleb has a rare blood type and this is the clue that drives the story and helps him solve the case.

Fans of “Dirty Harry” will not find any surprises in the screenplay, yeah, it’s formulaic and predictable, but that’s Eastwood to me. I just sit back and enjoy the thrill ride and leave the critiques to the critics.

Assisting McCaleb in his quest is fair maiden Graciella Rivers (Wanda DeJesus) whose murdered sister supplied the heart that Clint received. Clint’s driver and foil is Buddy Noone well played by Jeff Daniels. McCaleb’s infuriated doctor is played by Anjelica Huston, director John Huston’s daughter. The best part was played by actor Tina Lifford (The Temptations) as Det. Winston who was retired McCaleb’s contact back in the police department. Lifford has real screen presence and her scenes with Clint sparkle with vitality, like this gem.

Terry McCaleb: "Let's go."
Det. Winston: “Go? We just shot up half the valley!”
Terry McCaleb: “Did you hit anybody?”
Det. Winston: “No, thank God!
Terry McCaleb: ‘Neither did I. Let’s go. [they leave]

Fans of gunplay, car wrecks, and so on will find plenty to like in Blood Work. Yes, there is a wacko, but Clint Eastwood movies always have them. Mercifully, Clint did not expose his naked behind to us like he did in True Crime We can be thankful for that!

I think that Blood Work may be Eastwood’s last dirty cop film. We should cherish it.