We have all got a past, and sometimes that past reasserts itself. When her own former life catches up to her, Ercel, a Caribbean-island-dwelling mother in the mid-19th century, is left a bloody mess. That’s because Ercel, played with admirable feistiness by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, was once “Bloody Mary,” a notorious and successful pirate.
How successful? Well, when she’s waylaid in her house by a motley gang of male criminal seafarers, they show her a hefty gold piece and insist that she hand over the remainder of the treasure.
The movie is directed by Frank E. Flowers, who was born and raised on the Cayman Islands. He drew on local folklore to craft his story, which he wrote with Joe Ballarini. In the movie, Ercel puts up fierce resistance to the interlopers, led by Captain Connor (Karl Urban). But Connor’s got an ace in the hull, so to speak; he claims to be holding Ercel’s missing husband (Ismael Cruz Córdova) on his ship.
As Ercel endeavors to elude and then outwit Connor, she has her children and neighbors to protect as well. “Who is that horrible man, and how are you so good at killing people?,” asks her younger sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green). As Ercel prepares to take a stand from the bluff that gives this tale its title, it becomes clear that she can dish it out even better than she was able to take it. She stabs, she slashes, she shoots arrows, she shoots flintlocks. Chopra Jonas performs the female pirate version of “having it all” quite credibly; she’s the highlight of this chaotic enterprise.
The Bluff Rated R for lots and lots of violence. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. Watch on Prime Video.
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