Blood Work
Thanks to Eastwood's no frills, fast-paced shooting style and editing skills, this movie was in theaters a mere four months after completing photography.,When Dr. Fox is doing her blood work on Terry, an x-ray is used whilst performing the biopsy. Both times, neither she nor anyone around are wearing protective lead garments against radiation exposure, which is a standard practice in any medical establishment. In addition, an endomyocardial biopsy, as it is called, is not preformed in a medical office as shown in the movie. It is performed in a cardiac cath lab, which is effectively, an operating room. All personnel are in scrubs and a sterile field is required. Lead is worn underneath the surgical gowns. From an outside perspective, it may not be readily apparent that the staff in a cath lab are wearing lead IF they are wearing surgical gowns appropriately.,Buddy Noone: Who wants to go to the desert anyway?
Terry McCaleb: You go where the clues lead.
Buddy Noone: Don't they ever lead to the beach?,Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Blood Work/Full Frontal/The Master of Disguise/Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (2002),Clintwood's 'Blood Work' may not be the best nor most stylish of its genre but it remains enjoyable for the most part mainly because of the cast. It's quite a simple film but I found the end revelation disappointing and the last half hour is a little too dramatic. During the entire first hour, Eastwood cleverly avoids excessive violence and gore and smoothly lets the tension build. Clintwood is supported by a brilliant cast that includes the fabulous Anjelica Huston, the elegant Wanda de Jesus, the charming Tina Lifford and the funny Jeff Daniels. The cast does well but Daniels's performance is ruined by the overdone last half hour. The film rests on Eastwood and it's great to see him play such a role at 71 and pull it off so well. The jazzy background score gives 'Blood Work' a classy touch. Thus, to sum it up, one can expect a simple but engaging whodunnit thriller which is ruined a bit by the ending but Eastwood and his cast prevent it from being a waste of time.,