Hello I Must Be Going (2012/Oscilloscope DVD)/Jack & Diane (2012/Magnolia Blu-ray)/The Love Section (2012/Image DVD)

 

Picture: C+/B-/C+     Sound: C+/B-/C+     Extras: C/C/D     Main Programs: B-/C+/C-

 

 

Now for a trio of independent relationship stories…

 

 

Todd Louiso’s Hello I Must Be Going (2012, from a classic song from a Marx Brothers film and not the horrid Phil Collins album) tells the story of a middle-aged woman (Melanie Lynskey) who comes back home to live with her parents when her husband divorces her.  Unhappy and troubled, she has a good relationship with her father (John Rubenstein) and mixed one with her mom (Blythe Danner) but is trying to make things work.

 

One night during a meeting of her family (she does not even want to go and just gets an outfit for the occasion) encounters an introverted actor (Christopher Abbott from the great HBO series Girls, reviewed elsewhere on this site) in his late teens and they suddenly find themselves attracted to each other and start a secret relationship.  She wants it that way so she does not ruin a big business deal her father had this meeting for to begin with, but none of it will be this simple and we get a film that is somewhere between the usual mumblecore indie and a story about characters that has enough moments to give it a look for the mostly good parts.

 

The directing is decent and cast believable and well-chosen including Danner in fine form, handling comedy and drama in her uniquely seamless fashion.  There are a few false notes and forgettable vocal songs, but this has its engaging moments, some funny ones and is more ambitious than most recent films of its kind.  Definitely give it a look.

 

Extras in its paperboard slipcase packaging include Journalist David Poland interviewing Lynskey, the Original Theatrical Trailer and new interview with Director Louiso and Screenwriter Sarah Koskoff.

 

 

A little more challenging on one level, but not always as good, Bradley Rust Gray’s Jack & Diane (2012) has a young, introverted British woman named Diane (the terrific Juno Temple (Dark Knight Rises, Killer Joe)) visiting New York City and meeting a more outgoing young lady nick-named Jack (Riley Keough from Magic Mike, The Runaways and The Good Doctor, all reviewed elsewhere on this site) who is bold and open about anything and everything.  She is also a lesbian and Diane falls for her and vice versa.  However, we see early on Diane sees herself as a monster in the mirror and faints in shades of oppressed sexuality manifesting itself as a monster.

 

However, don’t expect An American Werewolf In London or either version of Cat People because this never becomes a Horror genre film of any kind, but the leads are terrific together, can both act and this is an interesting character study.  I just felt we had seen some of this before and even the talent here could not overcome that.  Look for singer Kylie Minogue in a good supporting performance among the many featured here.

 

Extras include an AXS TV look at the film, the Original Theatrical Trailer and a featurette on the special effects make-up for the film simply called Creating A Monster.

 

 

Finally we have Ronnie Warner’s The Love Section (2012) which is a predictable drama about a young man (Brian Hooks) who plays the field but falls for a young woman (Teyana Taylor) when he least expects it.  Unfortunately, besides being highly predictable, it is done with very little energy, most of the actors look bored and I never bought it in the vast majority of its scenes.

 

Too bad, because they have a good-looking cast and Mekhi Phifer shows up, but the DVD case falsely gives him top billing.  The mostly all African-American cast is sadly wasted and any intended jokes or moments that are supposed to be knowing ring false.

 

There are no extras.

 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Going and anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Section are about evenly matched, but Section is a little softer and if it were any worse, I would have had to rate it lower.  The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Diane is the best as expected, but the choice to play down a little of the definition holds this back overall when it should not have.  Maybe it was to have a soft feminine approach, but this should still be a bit sharper.

 

The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVDs are also equal, with sound towards the front speakers and both are dialogue-based, though I think Hello is slightly better recorded and mixed, then likely would sound better on its Blu-ray version.  The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Diane is also a bit dialogue-based but has a warm mix throughout even if it does not equate a consistent soundfield throughout.  It is still the best sounding of the releases here.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo