Review of Blood and Wine (1996) by Alison O — 11 Feb 2004

VIDEO.

I've had this on tape for a while (at least 2 years!) and had never got round to watching it. Jack Nicholson takes the lead as a wine dealer whose job gives him access to the homes of the rich. He's married to Judy Davis (who was outstanding as Judy Garland in the TV series from a couple of years ago), who's son (Stephen Dorff) is his boat-loving stepson. When he hatches a plan to snag a diamond necklace with his ex-con English mate (Michael Caine), he enlists his Latino girlfriend Jennifer Lopez (ten years into her career with this movie), whose chee-chee vowels here make her more irritating than ever. J. Lo's the nanny to a partcularly rich and stupid couple and when she reveals to Nicholson that her employer owns a 3 million dollar necklace he sees an opportunity to make a fast buck and exit on a plane with his lover. When the stones fall into the possession of stepson Dorff, however, his plans are blown out of the water. From the director of Five Easy Pieces this is a film that doesn't feel like it was made in 1986 but harks back to the days of classic film noirs. A quality script and impressive, always interesting performances from the ensemble cast makes this a film worth watching.