Tragedy -- or the nearest thing to it -- in Nick Murphy's fine police drama, BLOOD

We don't see much these days that qualifies as tragedy or even comes close to that definition. Which makes the U.S. theatrical debut of BLOOD -- a 2012 film from director Nick Murphy (shown below), who gave us one of 2011's better ghost stories, The Awakening -- all the more newsworthy.

This unrelenting British movie features a superlative cast, with each member playing at the top of his game. Blood, which is all about family, also involves some of that famous red stuff, yet the meaning of the film's title cuts pretty equally in both directions.

The story concerns a family of British policemen in a small coastal town: a father slowly losing out to dementia (Brian Cox) and his two sons -- one played by Paul Bettany, who has a wife and daughter; the other by Stephen Graham, who has a steady girlfriend in tow.

Mr. Graham (above) remains generally unsung -- on these shores, anyway -- but he's a fine actor, and this film gives him the best role he's had in some time. Ditto Mr. Bettany, below, who often falls into showy performances (or maybe they're just showy roles in showy films). Here he does nothing more than is necessary and absolutely nails his character -- and us.

As usual, however, it's Mark Strong (below), clearly one of the more versatile of the newer crop of British actors, who comes off as most memorable. If you compare just three of Strong's recent performances -- in Welcome to the Punch, The Guard, and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy -- to this one, you'll discover a fellow of surprising strengths as an actor. Here, as the quiet, very focused outsider on the police force, he brings a lovely subtlety and deep feeling to his role.

What makes Blood approach the tragic level is how the misdeeds of the males in this proud and arrogant family come home to roost, along with all the guilt and frustration that go with them. How the actions of the two brothers resonate painfully throughout their families, the police force and the town they serve, as well as the irony of who hastens their downfall and how, makes for a movie that is extremely brooding and bleak, though rich in fine characterization.

This film is evidently a kind of telescoped remake of a British TV series from 2004 called Conviction, which I have not seen. Though more could certainly be packed into six hours than in the 92 minutes shown here, I must say that this hour-and-a-half proves pretty spectacular on its own shortened terms.

Blood, from RLJ Entertainment, opens this Friday, August 9, exclusively at AMC theaters in major cities across the country: in Atlanta at the Colonial 18, in Chicago at the Streets of Woodfield 20, in Dallas at the Grapevine Mills 30, in Detroit at the Forum 30, in Houston at the Studio 30, in Kansas City at the Studio 30 with IMAX and Dine-in Theatres, in L.A. at the Burbank Town Center 8, in NYC at the Empire 25, in Philadelphia at the Cherry Hill 24, and in Seattle at the Loews Oak Tree. Meanwhile, the film has also been available via VOD since July 11.

THE AWAKENING: Nick Murphy's good ghost story stars a tasty Rebecca Hall

Within a few weeks of each other, we've had two movies make their debuts featuring fine leading-lady performances from two of the strongest actresses currently working in film -- with both playing a debunker of the paranormal. Last month Sigourney Weaver shed her grace on the under-rated Red Lights, and now we have Rebecca Hall playing a ghost-buster of a century earlier in Nick Murphy's new old-fashioned scare movie THE AWAKENING.

By "strong actress," TrustMovies means not ony that these women know their craft about as well as anyone working today, but that both also have the ability to command the screen, along with whatever character they are playing, so that this character emerges as someone you would not want to cross. Some of this, of course, comes via their sheer height. According to what I can learn from the web, both are just under six feet (Weaver's 5' 11"; Hall is 5' 10"). Perhaps both have grown up used to taking command of situations.

Perhaps because Ms Hall (shown above) has not been lucky enough (or unlucky enough, versatility-wise) to appear in the lead role of a blockbuster such as Alien (which pretty firmly set Weaver's career down the "strong woman" highway), she has had the oppor-tunity to play roles (Please Give, The Town, A Bag of Hammers) in which she comes across as considerably more vulnerable, along with those (such as the one under consideration here) in which she outdoes in strength of character any of the guys on view.

As director and co-writer (with Stephen Volk), Mr. Murphy, shown at left, has come up with a chilling, well-told tale of a present-day ghost who appears to be wreaking havoc in a boys school located in the picturesque (is there any other kind?) British countryside. Present-day, in this case, is just post- World War I, when plenty of young British men went dead or missing, thus giving rise to grieving relatives all too willing to believe in "spirtualists" who might be able to bring their dead sons or lovers briefly back to them -- even if only as a voice, a thump, or an odd ray of light.

Ms Hall plays Florence Cathcart, who, though grieving for her own lost love, determinedly debunks case after case of these frauds until, one day, a teacher named Robert Mallory arrives at her door, pleading for her to accompany him back to that aforementioned boys school. Mallory is played by Dominic West, above, who does a lovely job here. He has air of genuine sadness about him that makes us, as well as Florence, feel quite protective of him. Also in the cast is Imelda Staunton, who's fine, as always, as the school's combo nanny/nurse, and Isaac Hempstead Wright as one of the more pivotal students. Chills, scares, surprise and romance ensue.

Mr. Murphy sees to it that his film is kept in a palette of drab, near-colorless greens, grays and browns, as though the sun can never quite come out, which befits these dreary times. The companion with whom I saw the screening resented this -- "When I can tell than they've done it, then I don't like it!" I could tell, too, but still found it appropriate and subtly, quietly maneuvered. The filmmaker also keeps his pacing measured but spry.

What best makes the movie work is its clever plotting that lets out bits of information ever so gradually, and with the weight of each bit seemingly equal, so that we take it all in but don't give anything too much extra thought. This acts a kind of red herring so that we can imagine that the key to all this -- which lies in the past, of course -- might also concern sex, sensuality, a somewhat threaten-ing handyman, or simply the shenanigans of the boys themselves.

The explanation, when it comes, is a good one -- better and less disappointing than are most in this genre. It makes sense on several levels, and while it might call to mind a few other movies of this ilk, to even mention their titles would be to give too much away. So go, enjoy, and drink in the wonderful Ms Hall. The Awakening, from Cohen Media Group and running 107 minutes, opens this Friday, August 17, across the country. Click here to see all cities and theaters.