Undertaking Betty
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: C-
Brenda Blethyn is a really good actress, but sometimes a
role turns the talents, personality and likeability of a performer and turns
them into a cartoon. Nick Hurran’s Undertaking
Betty tries too hard to be a dark comedy that still wants to be a light
comedy and hopes Blethyn going into her emotional crying fits will be the line
that splits the difference. Too bad the
script is an annoying wreck and that this is one of the most obnoxious British
films in years.
She falls in love with her undertaker (Alfred Molina) and
they arrange to fake her death to get her out of her marriage. The caretaker (Christopher Walken, out of
his element and deserving much better) is not in on the plan and his ambitious
attempt to show her proper tribute will also screw things up. To add to all this, there are several
elaborate musical numbers that may think they are amusing in the least or at
best somehow expressing the psychosis of the characters, but they have no real
story to hang on to and the film imploded little by little as it goes
along. Naomi Watts also surfaces and is
wasted.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is on the
colorful side, though detail can be a problem and it still has that generic
Super 35mm look when all is said and done.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has some good surrounds and dialogue is not
bad. The only extra is a brief behind
the scenes featurette, but it does not make any of this more interesting.
- Nicholas Sheffo
