In the bonus track of the DVD of "Blood Money," the film's director described his main theme of greed and "how far it will push someone." At first glance, the character who is motivated by greed is Mr. Miller (John Cusack), who does a D.B. Cooper impersonation by bailing out of an airplane with bags full of eight million dollars. But, as the film progresses, it becomes clear that the deeper incarnation of greed is in the college student named Lynn (Cheetah), who is transformed into a monster.
In the interviews with the cast on the DVD behind-the-scenes segment, actress Willa Fitzgerald noted the "ugly levels of humanity" uncovered in her character due to the allure of the money that she finds on a rafting expedition with two friends. The film starts with the two young men (Vic and Jeff) departing on their outing with Lynn without a care in the world. But the discovery of the money leads to conflicting responses about what to do with the treasure.
As described in the bonus track of the DVD, the filmmakers wanted three different character responses to the money: (1) return it (Vic), (2) leave it alone (Jeff), or (3) keep it (Lynn). While pursued by the incompetent embezzler (played with some sly humor by Cusack), the three youngsters come into conflict due to their different perspectives on what to do with the money. It turns out that the alpha female Lynn will be the catalyst for a transformation of the group that resembles the boys on the island in "Lord of the Flies."
The character of Lynn (Cheetah) is best described by Mr. Miller as "entitled, embittered, and angry." Actress Willa Fitzgerald noted that her role was an expression of "something new as a woman in film." But as a dramatic character, there was nothing new in Lynn since the creation of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth when a basically decent character succumbs to the temptation of greed that leads to evil actions.
In this film, the evil was effectively juxtaposed with the beautiful environment of the woods and the river in the location filming around Savannah, Georgia. While "Blood Money" lacked a dynamic ending, it was nonetheless a well-crafted and suspenseful morality play with a fine set of performances.
In the interviews with the cast on the DVD behind-the-scenes segment, actress Willa Fitzgerald noted the "ugly levels of humanity" uncovered in her character due to the allure of the money that she finds on a rafting expedition with two friends. The film starts with the two young men (Vic and Jeff) departing on their outing with Lynn without a care in the world. But the discovery of the money leads to conflicting responses about what to do with the treasure.
As described in the bonus track of the DVD, the filmmakers wanted three different character responses to the money: (1) return it (Vic), (2) leave it alone (Jeff), or (3) keep it (Lynn). While pursued by the incompetent embezzler (played with some sly humor by Cusack), the three youngsters come into conflict due to their different perspectives on what to do with the money. It turns out that the alpha female Lynn will be the catalyst for a transformation of the group that resembles the boys on the island in "Lord of the Flies."
The character of Lynn (Cheetah) is best described by Mr. Miller as "entitled, embittered, and angry." Actress Willa Fitzgerald noted that her role was an expression of "something new as a woman in film." But as a dramatic character, there was nothing new in Lynn since the creation of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth when a basically decent character succumbs to the temptation of greed that leads to evil actions.
In this film, the evil was effectively juxtaposed with the beautiful environment of the woods and the river in the location filming around Savannah, Georgia. While "Blood Money" lacked a dynamic ending, it was nonetheless a well-crafted and suspenseful morality play with a fine set of performances.