Blood On Her Name (Movie Review)

9/10

It’s hard to be a single mother. Leigh id running a business when her husband is in jail and standing by her delinquent son who has blinded another boy in the eye. When a man breaks down into Leigh’s garage it ends in his death. Inspite of everything Leigh is a good person. Would it be her undoing?

Modern indie films always plays safe. If you examine most of low budget genre films they are the repeat of what has been done before. Then you stumble on a gem like BLOOD ON HER NAME and realise what independent cinema is really about. Always challenging the viewer, always keeping a mystery card up its sleeve, the film confidently leads us towards the heartbreaking finale.

BLOOD ON HER NAME is all good news. The acting is superb. Particularly from Bill Patton, who makes the film. His energy carries it forward and his character has a few surprises in store. 
The lead Bethany Anne Lind is believable as a woman who is not perfect but who has everything to lose. At the same time she is not ready to compromise on her values. Again she does a great job, as virtues are hard to sell. 

This is the first film from Matthew Pope, and for a first picture it is almost perfect. The accents are right, the violence is not over the top, the drama is heartbreaking and there’s even a message one can carry out as the credits roll. The characters are deep enough to care for (even villains) but not deep enough to be a bore. I highly recommend this little thriller. Without a doubt it deserves a widescreen release more than most of this month’s big releases.