Roadside Attractions has released the first theatrical trailer for director Guillaume Canet’s crime drama Blood Ties.  The story takes place in New York in 1974, and centers on two brothers.  One has recently been released from prison (Clive Owen), and the other is a cop (Billy Crudup) who is trying to help his brother out only to discover that old habits die hard.  The trailer paints the film as a crime thriller, but I saw the pic at TIFF and it’s really more of a family drama with tense elements.  Regardless, the film never really comes together and kind of slogs its way through the tropes and clichés of a 1970s crime movie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read Matt’s review from TIFF.  The film also stars Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Marion Cotillard, Noah Emmerich, and James CaanBlood Ties will be released in theaters and on iTunes March 21st.

Click over to Apple to watch in HD.

Here’s the official synopsis for Blood Ties:

New York, 1974. Fifty-year-old Chris (Clive Owen) has just been released on good behavior after several years in prison following a gangland murder. Reluctantly waiting for him outside the gates is his younger brother, Frank (Billy Crudup), a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon (James Caan), who raised them alone, seems to favor Chris despite all his troubles. Yet blood ties are the ones that bind, and Frank, hoping that his brother has changed, is willing to give him a chance -- he shares his home, finds him a job, and helps him reconnect with his children and his ex-wife, Monica (Marion Cotillard). But Chris’ inevitable descent back into a life of crime proves to be the last in a long line of betrayals, and after his brother’s latest transgressions, Frank banishes him from his life. But it’s already too late, as the brothers’ destiny is bound together, forever.

 

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