Clive Owen: (Courtesy of Roadside Attraction)

Blood Ties will surprise those looking for a formulaic gangster film, as it contains a story that may give viewers something to think about after the house lights come up.

The French actor and director, Guillaume Canet (Tell No One, Big Chill, Little White Lies), directed the film, a remake of the 2008 French thriller, Les liens du sang (Rivals), in which he starred.

This version, which transplants the setting of the original film to the mean streets of New York City in the 1970s, was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival and is currently showing in Indonesia.

Indifferent reviews after Cannes led Canet to return to the editing room to cut some 20 minutes from the film'€™s running time '€” which might explain why some characters seem underdeveloped.

Despite that, the movie is profound and can stand on its own two feet, with a good cast, musical score and a vérité style of shooting that makes Blood Ties worth viewing again.

The story, which Canet penned with James Gray (The Yards, We Own the Night), touches on the kinship between brothers.

The setting is the crime-infested neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens in 1974 '€” a time when the city was overwhelmed by drugs, prostitution, robbery and murder.

Charismatic British actor Clive Owen plays Chris Pierzynski, who began his career in the criminal underworld when he was 12.

After a long stint in prison following a gangland murder, Chris, now 50, moves in with his younger brother Frank (Billy Crudup) '€” a rising star in the police department.

Frank tries to keep Chris from returning to a life of crime '€” and to wipe the smirk off the face of his big brother.

However, Chris shows little interest in staying on the straight and narrow, especially after he visits his ex-wife, Monica (Marion Cottilard), a street prostitute with a drug problem, with who he has two children.

Realizing the tension between the brothers, their sister Marie (Lili Taylor) tries to keep the family together. Meanwhile, their father, Leon (James Caan), is struggling after losing a lung to cancer surgery '€” and with the problems that have placed his sons at odds with each other.

Chris is determined to start a better life with young, good girl Natalie (Mila Kunis) who has a baby on the way, while Frank gets back together with longtime crush Vanessa (Zoe Saldana) after sending her husband, Anthony (Matthias Schoenaerts), to prison.

While Chris and Frank have to stand against each other; as events unfold, the brothers are brought back to the relationship they forged as youths.

The cast '€” most of whom are underrated character actors '€” depict their characters well, although they might occasionally over their New York accents.

In particular, Cotillard is a scene-stealer. It would be understandable if one thought that the movie was actually about her character.

There is nothing flashy with the action scenes that make the car chases believable and the fights between the brothers genuine.

Canet also uses funk songs for the soundtrack, including songs from KISS and the Velvet Underground, adding value to the movie.

Either as an admirer of the cast or a fan of a good gritty film, the movie is a must see.

Blood Ties
Director: Guillaume Canet
Screenplay: Guillaume Canet, James Gray
Producer: Alain Attal
Distributor: Roadside Attraction
Cast: Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Lili Taylor, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Caan
Running time: 127 minutes

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