After Image
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
First he was Johnny Cougar, then John Cougar, then John
“Cougar” Mellencamp, then John Mellencamp.
Towards the end of all that “up-trading” of identity, which received far
less criticism than when Prince changed his name to a symbol for a few years,
he also decided to take a few shots at acting.
Falling From Grace (1992) was ambitious, but not very
successful. Mellencamp tries again as a
detective with After Image (2001) in a story about an apparently
clairvoyant deaf woman (Terrylene) who can see a murderer on the loose, but
happens to fall in love with the detective.
As Miramax looses the Weinsteins and another great chapter
of better Hollywood filmmaking wraps up, some of the lesser-known projects of
the last few years will find themselves to DVD and the wheels wind down. In the case of After Image,
co-writer/director Robert Manganelli has some good ideas and should get points
for trying to do a more visual film, but he is not able to resolve the
detective portion with the sudden supernatural/super-scientific side of sudden
clairvoyance. This is not a fault of
casting, including Louise Fletcher.
Also hurting the film is the overuse of video and the idea of video as
something the killer enjoys. Michael
Powell’s Peeping Tom it ain’t.
Too bad he got sidetracked, because he was on the right track. Better luck next time.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is better than
expected, despite cinematographer Kurt Brabbee’s insistence on video and the
same tired, dark, clichéd look that is killing this genre. The detail is not bad. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has its moments,
but it is nothing extraordinary, though it is a clean mix. Extras include previews before the film that
you can forward, a featurette on the make-up, captions that tell the making of
the film and text by the director on its production.
- Nicholas Sheffo
