Rod Blackhurst’s crime drama “Blood for Dust” is the most unwitting example you’ll find for the style-is-substance school of thought. Starring Scoot McNairy (“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” 2016) and Kit Harrington (“Eternals,” 2021), the film is an excellent slow burn telling of a story whose structure feels quite familiar.

Written by David Ebeltoft, the screenplay traces the life of Cliff (McNairy), a salesman with a murky past trying to make ends meet, is left with no choice but to dive into a life of crime with Ricky (Harrington), a potentially volatile associate from his past, indicating that things are about to go very wrong very quickly. It works as the perfect sandbox for Blackhurst’s successful push to mold the plot into a visually engaging movie for most of its 98-minute runtime.

And it all starts from the textured visual prowess of cinematographer Justin Derry (“Bruiser,” 2022), whose incredible decisions—whether in framing or movement—work perfectly in sync with Blackhurst’s intent of translating the feeling of relentless discomfort on screen. Right from the opening shot of a picture frame being violently and abruptly covered in blood-splatter as the camera dollies out to show its audience the source—a man, presumably with a family of his own, has killed himself in his place of work. By the time Ricky and Cliff reach the as-yet-unidentified man, it’s already been too late.

The story itself has echoes of the unlikely-criminal-duo-destined-to-certain-doom trope we’ve seen in films like Hitchcock’s “Rope” (1948), Michael Mann’s “Collateral” (2004), Nimród Antal’s “Armored” (2009), or more recently, Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” (2022), and—like in the case of Antal’s crime thriller—could have felt as been-there-done-that as brushing your teeth. Blackhurst’s gritty and grounded storytelling in “Blood for Dust,” however, breathes new life into the plot device, and—with the brilliantly-acted contentious chemistry betwen McNairy and Harrington—succeeds perfectly.

It may not be an instant classic, but powered by Blackhurst’s determination to doing the most—and succeeding—with a familiar story, and an incredible set of performances by the likes of Harrington, McNairy, and the rest of the supporting cast, the crime  drama remains a thoroughly engaging game of status exchange between its leads, in which the viewer continues to guess whether the good guy gets out unscathed or ends up a statistic in a potential climactic bloodbath. Worth a watch.