Secret
In Their Eyes
(2015/STX/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)/The
Wrong Man (1956/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)
Picture:
B & C/B Sound: B & C+/C+ Extras: C Films: C+/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Wrong
Man
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Two
of the more serious drama thrillers on Blu-ray deserve comparison for
how they differ, as does the genre over 6 decades.
Billy
Ray's Secret
In Their Eyes
(2015) has a solid cast and fine set-up taking place between two time
periods. Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman work
together as investigators who land up monitoring a Muslim Mosque when
a dead body is reported. It is a young woman and worst of all, it is
the child of Roberts' character. She (Roberts in one of the best
performances she has given in years) goes into total shock and looses
it, all start looking for her killer and are not sure who it might
be.
In
the later period, Kidman (who is also really good here) has become a
district attorney against some sexism (implied) and Ejiofor is back
with another possibility of who the killer was, but he has been on
false leads before. The mother (Roberts) is now semi-retired, but
this time, the lead might be the one they've wanted, but how to
approach things. How fast can they get what turns out to be the guy?
Will they cross the line? What is that line? Will they let their
combined anguish allow the killer to get away?
I
was pleasantly surprised how good this was and until they tacked on a
phony Sixth
Sense-style
twist ruining everything, this was a smart piece of murder mystery
drama that worked to the near end. Everyone is really good here all
around, Ray handles helming it all smoothly and the writing is also
smart... until the twist ending. They should have stuck with the
earlier ending and done some more character development and they
sadly botched it. Too bad, because this is a contrived compromise
the older studio system would have rightly rejected.
STX
is a new company trying to make different films with a different
approach, securing distribution from Universal, who has smartly cut a
deal with them. STX has to be careful of overreaching like this and
not leaving well enough alone. Too bad, because if they had quit
while they were ahead, this could have been a big hit and critical
success as well. It is still worth a look.
Of
course there is Alfred Hitchcock's The
Wrong Man
(1956) was also not a big hit in its time and tends to be an
underrated entry from the Master of Suspense from his underrated
Warner Bros. period (not non-stop, but close enough) that also
produced Strangers
On A Train,
Rope
and Dial
'M' For Murder.
Based on a real life crime case, Henry Fonda gives one of his great,
understated performances as Manny, a musician with a nice family that
is doing well and is happy. Suddenly, he starts to become mistaken
for a man who has been committing armed robberies. Before the police
had to read a person's rights to them (aka Miranda), he fully
cooperates, only to be falsely accused, arrested and sent to jail!
Vera
Miles (also so good here) is his wife who lands up having a
breakdown, unsure if he really is guilty and lands up in an
institution, a point Hitchcock said was a mistake by not following
Manny all the way, but that actually helps the film from being dated
and seeming like an all-male Classic Hollywood narrative. Even
better, it starts out briefly as a police procedural (long before
they became the formula bores they are today especially on TV), the
kind that killed Film Noir (ending in 1958) along with
faster-developing black and white film stocks and TV itself. Then as
soon as Manny walks down a dark outside set of stairs, it turns into
a Hitchcock film and never ends as one until the end.
Lacking
the usual humor or trickery you'd get form his most innovative films,
it is a deep look at his theme of transference of guilty, is explicit
about his Catholicism (which happens to be Hitchcock's as well) and
takes a very deep look at human nature in the subtleness of its ease
of being evil. It is not evil people who mistake him for being the
robber, they are just so upset, scared and not thinking things
through that they create a more awful situation than the one of fear
they already are in. The visual darkness matches the thematic one,
making this Noir enough if not all out one and at a time when
Clouzot's Diabolique
(reviewed on Criterion Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) was a hit many
said had 'out-Hitchcocked Hitchcock' and the like, he had made this
film that is just as dark and effective in its own way. Hitchcock
would make Psycho
as a response to Diabolique
later, putting an end to that nonsense, as good as Clouzot's film was
and still is.
Never
totally rediscovered as the solid film it is, Scorsese later used it
as a model for how to shoot Taxi
Driver
(1976, also on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) and on its 60th
Anniversary, its points about life and the truth of how we are is as
true and enduring and accurate as ever before. It sadly got lost in
the remarkable wave of Technicolor/VistaVision big budget masterworks
he was making at the time, but is very much worth your time to see
and see again. A very special film indeed.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Eyes
is a decent digital shoot throughout with decent visual choices that
make it more involving and works for an HD shoot, but the
anamorphically enhanced DVD is on the weak side and hard to watch.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on Man
can show the age of the materials used at times, but has some great
shots that really hold up well. There is some controversy that the
film needs to be at its actual 1.66 X 1 framing, but Hitchcock and
Director of Photography Robert Burks knew that it would be shown
wider (up to 1.85 X 1 by 1956), so composition is not ruined too much
despite some purists complaints. It also does not have the issues
Universal's Psycho
Blu-ray has with frame edges missing.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Eyes
is well mixed and presented with a consistent soundfield
and clear dialogue, so it is the sonic champ as expected, while the
DVD version's lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is passable, but comes up
short. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix on Man
shows its age a bit more than expected and lacks some of the clarity
and warmth a
Hitchcock film of this time should have, but it sounds better than I
have heard the film before to its credit.
Extras
on both releases
include Making Of documentaries, but Eyes
has two of them, plus Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable
and other cyber iTunes-capable devices and a feature length audio
commentary track with Director Ray and Producer Mark Johnson. Man
adds a vintage, classic Original Theatrical Trailer.
To
order the Warner Archive Blu-ray for The
Wrong
Man,
go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:
https://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
