Watch a trailer for Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, a dive bar documentary with a twist
The state of the world a film drops into can often change the ways in which it resonates. The claustrophobic anxiety and viral threat of Sea Fever, for example, felt timely as all hell when it dropped back in early April. It’s likely the same will happen for Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, a documentary about the sloppy and wistful final night of a beloved dive bar. Yes, the world is technically reopening, but the threat of COVID-19 is still keeping many from relaxing into their local watering holes as they once did.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets presents itself as a chronicle of a Las Vegas dive called Roaring ’20s, with its abundance of regulars getting riled and teary in the face of its closure. But there’s a twist (of sorts) to Bill and Turner Ross’ movie: The bar isn’t real, and the movie was shot in New Orleans with locals who were brought in to play variations of themselves. That might sound disingenuous, but it ends up making for an infinitely more fascinating film.