‘Blood for Dust’ Review: ‘Breaking Bad’ Meets ‘Fargo’ in Rod Blackhurst’s Montana-Set Drug Smuggling Thriller
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic A slow-burn Rocky Mountain noir set along the corridor between Billings, Mont., and the Canadian border — a cold, lonely stretch of highway shared by salesmen and smugglers alike — “Blood for Dust” establishes a ruthless sense of sangfroid from its opening shot.
On a desk in a bland business office sits a family portrait, depicting a proud Marine and his family. Without warning, a shotgun goes off, splattering the photo and the wall behind it in blood and brain matter.
The camera pulls back to reveal the same man, his face half-missing, a briefcase full of cash propped open on his desk. It’s a jarring — and jarringly artificial — scene.
Fortunately, it’s the only one that rings false in director Rod Blackhurst’s otherwise tense, no-nonsense thriller, a standout of the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival that merits comparison to “Breaking Bad” or “Hell or High Water,” but with snow instead of sand.
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