Belonging (2004/Telefilm)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
I like Brenda Blethyn.
She is a great actress and when it comes to getting upset and have huge
emotional breakdowns on camera, she can compete with Judy Dench any day of the week. She gets the chance to do this often in Belonging,
Christopher Menaul’s drama that becomes melodrama too often for its own
good. Of course, Blethyn’s Jess is too
used to pleasing everyone but herself.
It becomes worse when her oaf husband (Kevin Whately) leaves her for a
younger, more attractive woman.
Alan Plater’s adaptation of the Stevie Davies book The
Web Of Belonging, is not bad, but it just gets too sappy and predictable,
though the cast (especially Rosemary Harris and Anna Massey) bring the film
above its flaws enough to make it worth a look, but it misses many
opportunities to do more as the ex-husband wants a divorce and Jess tries to
figure out what to do next. It runs 96
minutes, so it knows when to quit.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is detail and
video black poor, on top of having the kind of dulled color that is so very
cliché these days. The way it was shot
is on the standard side by David Katznelson.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no real surround information. Extras include text on the cast and crew,
“oldie” facts, interview text, production notes and a solid interview with
Blethyn. This is a TV movie.
- Nicholas Sheffo
