‘Without Blood’ Review: Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir Face Ghosts in Angelina Jolie’s Inert Drama

While there are plenty of stories worth telling, equally as important is the way in which you tell it. Such is the trouble with “Without Blood,” the latest directorial effort from Angelina Jolie that has plenty of ideas worth grappling with, but is never quite able to capitalize on them. Based on the novel of the same name by Alessandro Baricco, it’s a film that takes place almost entirely in one room where two characters, played by Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir, reflect on a violent event that continues to reverberate into every facet of their future. It’s a film about war, cycles of violence, how it is that we deal with loss and whether revenge is truly the solution, but it never feels like the film is able to fully do justice to any of them.