He used to be a musician. There was a wife, there were children - three pretty boys - and he was young, he expected something from life. But it just so happened that he had to leave them. For a long time. So he came home. In general, it doesn’t matter why he was absent – how he lived forty years away from his family, and what he did all these years. In this story, questions are not raised in this way, there are only “today” and “tomorrow”. There is a lonely, stroke-stricken old man who expects nothing more from life - just to see that the children's fates have developed a little better. Alas... This is the story of a dysfunctional family named Bloodworth.
“Bloodworth” is the second title of the film “The Province of the Night”, based on the work of the same name by American novelist William Gay. Bloodworth literally translates as “worthy/valuable blood (origin)”" and in this case sounds like a mockery. All the heroes of the story were born in a godforsaken town in Tennessee, and apparently here and die. Mud. Hopeless. Longing. The eldest of the brothers (William Earl Brown) is an angry, sullen birch living with a meek, tormented mother (Francis Conroy) - an early faded and more like a shadow than a woman. Another son (Val Kilmer) is the owner of a local bar, his days are spent in the company of mashed girls, food and booze. The third is the completely finished type, the alcoholic, of which there is nothing more to be added at all will. But this bastard has a son, a seventeen-year-old. The guy dropped out of school to make ends meet. The only bright thing in his life is literature. In general, all the heroes of this sad story run from reality, each in its own way. One - days and nights sticking out in the workshop, the other - entertaining in bars with cheap whores, the third - drunk endlessly, the fourth - lives memories of half a century of freshness, the fifth - goes into the world of creativity. And only broken by a stroke, the old man with a guitar in his hands tries to live in the present.
The Province of Night is a serious social drama. But if it were not for the terrible ending that befell at least three pretty characters, the picture in spirit is approaching tragicomedy. There is a lot of satire, there are really funny moments, there are very beautiful scenes (and shooting), there are moments amazingly touching. There is a ray of hope: in the finale for one of the characters, the surname "Bloodworth" will cease to sound like a mockery. But what a fucking price! . .
The same movie, which not only tells about something, but also offers to stop for a minute, think – in general, takes more time from us than it lasts. A film from that category, after which there is a need to spend half an hour alone, in calm reflection. That's great! Literally, from the very first frames, according to some elusive signs in the atmosphere of the picture, it is clear that in front of you - not a dummy and not another black woman. The portraits of the heroes are worked out to the smallest nuances, and the dialogues are polished almost to perfection. The film has a main character, but still it is the story of a whole family, so most of the so-called “secondary” characters act and are perceived as full-fledged, which is just a little less told. Everyone has a story behind the scenes that can be thought of. Everyone is beautiful, colorful, each in its own way. The only character you can find fault with is the main character’s girlfriend (Hilary Duff). She looks too beautiful and too Hollywood-sweetened for this story. Not realistic. But we can forgive, assuming that this is such a special technique, offering the viewer to see her image through the eyes of a young man in love, for whom she personifies Beauty itself. The guy who plays the main role (Rhys Thompson), coped with a very decent, including the most difficult climax scenes that require the actor serious dramatic talent. And the other heroes are just a delight! Cris Christopherson and Francis Conroy are amazing, I just refuse to understand where all the nominations for prestigious film awards are like... well, the Oscars, the dog with them (there everything is long sold), but where are the well-deserved palm branches, bears, BAFTA, etc.? This is exactly the level of acting.
I found this film thanks to Val Kilmer, and I was very impressed with his performance in such an unusual role. He is an actor amazingly diverse, really strong (representative of the classical school!), and in parallel with the abundant hulking in one-day action films can be proud of a certain number of serious intellectual works in a real movie. But there were no tragicomic characters in his gallery before Bloodworth, and the fat bulldy bartender, invariably accompanied by a drunken junk girl from the Province of the Night, turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The truth I’m afraid, not for everyone: I’m not sure that the surprise will be appreciated by nervous ladies and fans of Kilmer – the Cool Hero of the Fighters. In fact, he has a brilliant parody of himself, played with murderous self-irony and huge slyness. The appearances of Warren Bloodworth are always enchanting, and bring live major notes to the sound of a cheerless symphony called Bloodworth. In terms of drama and depth, the image created by Kilmer is not inferior, perhaps, even to an old musician performed by Christopherson. The worst thing for Warren is that, like his parent, he understands everything, and under the mask of an aging womanizer, a bonvian, an ever-submissive smoker of life in pimp outfits, hides a good heart and unjolly thoughts of a pessimist and a cynic. If life had turned out differently, he could have become a good person, but the tragedy is that he does not want to. Then why? “Take care of yourself,” his father said. Returning to the car, in the back seat of which a drunk whore sleeps, Warren turns around for a moment and waves apathetically: "Ah, it's too late." He made his own life. But for some reason, it is a pity that this is how everything turned out - both for him and for Bloodward Sr. It could have been different. Probably? .
In general, make no mistake about wasting your time searching for The Province of Night, and then two hours watching. It's worth it! Smart, multi-layered and far from passable picture with great acting work and cool drama.
10 out of 10