"Doesn't it get lonely?", Harry asks Boy, looking out over the wide, barren desert. "Everywhere is lonely. America is full of loud mouths always shouting and trying to get themselves heard", Boy replies.
I had mixed feelings after watching Dark Blood. Finally being able to see it after all these years, it was almost as if if was just one of those films I never got around to seeing. I was only 13 at the time of River Phoenix's death, which greatly affected me. I was always intrigued as to when or even if Phoenix's final film would ever see the light of day. (The film was nearly finished shooting at the time of his death.) So when I heard that director George Sluizer was going to finish the film, I was excited but also a bit hesitant.
The film opens with Boy (River Phoenix) and his dog howling at the moon. We are then introduced to Buffy and Harry (Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce) a troubled married couple from Hollywood, who are travelling through the Utah desert. Their car breaks down not once, but twice. The second time it breaks down, they are left stranded in the middle of nowhere. When night comes, after seeing a light in the distance, Buffy goes looking for help, and stumbles upon Boy's shack. We find out that he is living in an area that was once a nuclear testing site. Besides his shack, he has also created a secret mystical cave full of survival items and the 'magical' Kachina dolls he makes.
Buffy's attraction to Boy is obvious from the start. She is intrigued by and attracted to him, meanwhile Harry is becoming more and more annoyed with the situation as time goes by. When the time comes for Buffy and Harry to leave, Boy won't let them. I won't give anything else away, but it is quietly captivating and tense.
Of course the big question is what happens when you are missing pieces of the puzzle, so to speak? The scenes that were never to be filmed, are now just still shots, (except for maybe one or two), with a voice-over narration by the director. It is done nicely, but I feel it would've been more effective to have moving footage of the desert instead. With these few key scenes missing, most notably between Buffy and Boy, it does slightly take away from the overall feel of the film. Still, what George Sluizer has done is impressive and ultimately special.
The acting from the three leads is excellent. River Phoenix is superb. He plays Boy with a fine balance between complicated and strange. You don't know what he is going to do next. Judy Davis is terrific as the laid back and trusting Buffy. Jonathan Pryce is wonderful as the wary and uptight Harry. The chemistry between Davis and Pryce is lovely. The tension between Harry and Boy is fascinating, as seen when Boy leaves Harry alone in the middle of a canyon.
The cinematography by Edward Lachman is simply gorgeous. The desolate landscape is both stunning and eerie. A fitting backdrop for the heated relationships and circumstances. The hypnotic score by Florencia Di Concilio is beautiful.
It won't be a film for everyone, but if you're a fan of Sluizer's work or any of the cast, then I hope you get the chance to see it. River Phoenix was in a class of his own. He had such a strong screen presence, it was a pleasure to finally see his final film. I want to commend George Sluizer for finishing the film.
I had mixed feelings after watching Dark Blood. Finally being able to see it after all these years, it was almost as if if was just one of those films I never got around to seeing. I was only 13 at the time of River Phoenix's death, which greatly affected me. I was always intrigued as to when or even if Phoenix's final film would ever see the light of day. (The film was nearly finished shooting at the time of his death.) So when I heard that director George Sluizer was going to finish the film, I was excited but also a bit hesitant.
The film opens with Boy (River Phoenix) and his dog howling at the moon. We are then introduced to Buffy and Harry (Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce) a troubled married couple from Hollywood, who are travelling through the Utah desert. Their car breaks down not once, but twice. The second time it breaks down, they are left stranded in the middle of nowhere. When night comes, after seeing a light in the distance, Buffy goes looking for help, and stumbles upon Boy's shack. We find out that he is living in an area that was once a nuclear testing site. Besides his shack, he has also created a secret mystical cave full of survival items and the 'magical' Kachina dolls he makes.
Buffy's attraction to Boy is obvious from the start. She is intrigued by and attracted to him, meanwhile Harry is becoming more and more annoyed with the situation as time goes by. When the time comes for Buffy and Harry to leave, Boy won't let them. I won't give anything else away, but it is quietly captivating and tense.
Of course the big question is what happens when you are missing pieces of the puzzle, so to speak? The scenes that were never to be filmed, are now just still shots, (except for maybe one or two), with a voice-over narration by the director. It is done nicely, but I feel it would've been more effective to have moving footage of the desert instead. With these few key scenes missing, most notably between Buffy and Boy, it does slightly take away from the overall feel of the film. Still, what George Sluizer has done is impressive and ultimately special.
The acting from the three leads is excellent. River Phoenix is superb. He plays Boy with a fine balance between complicated and strange. You don't know what he is going to do next. Judy Davis is terrific as the laid back and trusting Buffy. Jonathan Pryce is wonderful as the wary and uptight Harry. The chemistry between Davis and Pryce is lovely. The tension between Harry and Boy is fascinating, as seen when Boy leaves Harry alone in the middle of a canyon.
The cinematography by Edward Lachman is simply gorgeous. The desolate landscape is both stunning and eerie. A fitting backdrop for the heated relationships and circumstances. The hypnotic score by Florencia Di Concilio is beautiful.
It won't be a film for everyone, but if you're a fan of Sluizer's work or any of the cast, then I hope you get the chance to see it. River Phoenix was in a class of his own. He had such a strong screen presence, it was a pleasure to finally see his final film. I want to commend George Sluizer for finishing the film.