From first-time British writer-director Toby Tobias comes a noir thriller starring Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is one the greatest performers on the planet. Having recently performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall, his energy on stage – at the ripe age of 69 – continues to be electric, and his mere presence verges on the reverential and the messianic.
For the psychological thriller Blood Orange, the rock legend brings his sleazy sex lizard image to the role of terminally ill rock star, Bill, taking some time out in a desert paradise with his young trophy wife Isabelle (former Grange Hill actress Kacey Clarke).
But their bohemian existence is rocked by the arrival of Isabelle's stepson Lucas (The White Queen’s Ben Lamb), who demands an inheritance that's been stolen from him. Power games and secret agendas soon unfold, resulting in betrayal and murder…
While Iggy isthe master of the concert arena, as an actor, he's still learning the ropes. But in playing this version of himself he's certainly scored, as he dresses his character in his trademark craggy complexion and grizzled leathered skin, iconic growling voice and awkward gait (something that was borne of a twisted spine caused by on-stage injuries). These physical characteristics not only match the sun-drenched landscape in which his Bill exists, they also help give his world-weary philosophical character an almost mythical quality. Its a character that's certainly fit for purpose.
Using just a handful of characters in single setting (all shot in a modernist villa in the rocky hills of Ibiza), British writer/director Toby Tobias has done a pretty fair job at bringing his modestly-budgeted noir thriller to searing life. Now it could have done with less words and more suspense, but it's an engrossing experience nevertheless – and one that's made all the more rewarding with the presence of that wild man of rock 'n' roll.
Blood Orange is out now on DVD from Metrodome.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zYaA3V2KXY
