Life During Wartime (2010/Criterion Collection Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
As the
Indie film scene fades and Hollywood
reaches a new nadir with some of the worst films it ever made, Todd Solondz has
remained one of the few true filmmakers who never sold out and still
matters. Never shying away from mature
subject matter, the man behind memorable films like Welcome To The Dollhouse and Happiness
is back with a new film that is a sort of sequel to Happiness called Life During
Wartime.
With the
roles recast and locale switched from New Jersey
to Florida 12
years later, we get another dark tale of the despair of his quietly lost,
hurting and even neurotic characters who cannot find closure in their
lives. This is made worse by endless
dysfunction between families and even a “reformed pedophile” who may not be as
well as he thinks.
You do
not need to see the previous film to see this one, though it makes for
interesting references, especially with the most unusual changes between such
films we are likely to see, but happening post-9/11 adds a new element that
these people are lost, lost in advance and lost in the unrecognized wasteland
of lies and denial that have left all the years since 9/11 as unresolved and a
perpetual political football (until very recently, certainly after this film
was released) that subtly hovers over all we see and speaks to a much darker
denial in our society in general that really began decades ago, but accelerated
in the 1980s.
Alison
Janney, Charlotte Rampling, Ally Sheedy, Paul Reubens, Shirley Henderson,
Ciaran Hinds, Michael Learner and Chris Marquette are among those who help make
this a truly fine work and it is a shame it was not a surprise hit upon first
arrival, but I liked it and definitely recommend it.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot with a RED ONE 4K HD camera and
this is about as good as such a shoot can look on Blu-ray with some softness,
but good color and a consistent image throughout. Director of Photography Ed Lachman, A.S.C.,
has done his best to push the limits of the single-plane format and make this
look as good as possible. The DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix comes from the original Pro Tools HD
soundmaster at 24 bits, which sounds fine and warm, but is limited in
soundfield due to the usually quiet, dialogue-based nature of Solondz’s work.
Extras includes
the usual nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and
essay War On Terror by David Sterritt,
while the Blu-ray adds an Original Theatrical Trailer, new video interview with
DP Lachman, Ask Todd audio Q&A
with Director Solondz and Making “Life
During Wartime” documentary that should all be seen after watching the
film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
