Seclusion (2006)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C     Extras: C+     Film: C+

 

 

Steve Mudd’s Seclusion (2006) is an infidelity tale about a married political figure (Christopher Hamilton) who has an affair with another married woman (Missy Crider) that goes well until he takes acid by “accident” and she disappears.  When his wife and her husband start looking for both of them, he is still trying to get his wits together and his advisor (Jefferson Arca) may be more of a hindrance than help.

 

The script (by Andrea Mudd and the director) could have been a good mystery, but is more interested in the conflict between characters to really explore that angle.  Of course, it does not have to be a mystery at all if it does not want to and could just be a solid drama where that is a MacGuffin (Hitchcock’s thing about what moves the characters but is irrelevant) and on that level I kept waiting for this to take off.  It had the potential to do that on any level, but just remains a smart-enough, watchable piece of ambitious acting, good directing and sincere effort to do something script-driven that is not too gimmicky.  Sometimes, it is almost unintentionally funny in its serious tone, but then picks up a bit.  The result is a competent piece for which you could do worse, even when it does not always gel.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad, but has detail and even color limits.  Cinematographer Rich Lerner uses too much shaky camera work at time and the choice of shots is not always the best, though Mudd must take some of the responsibility for that.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is a bit harsh and surrounds are very awkward.  Extras include Mudd’s OK commentary and 17 minutes of extra scenes, (including an alternate ending that furthers the idea of how ambitious this was.  It should be interesting to see what he does next.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo