Talk To Me
(HD-DVD/DVD Combo Format + DVD-Video)
Picture:
B+/B-/B- Sound: B/B-/B- Extras: C Film: B
Don
Cheadle’s acting is so seamless that it keeps him constantly employed without
necessarily becoming the huge star he would otherwise be, but there are some
performances so intense and incredible that they will rank with his very
best. As convict-turned-hit-radio-DJ
Petey Greene, he becomes the man in the most dynamic ways in Kasi Lemmon’s impressive
comedy biopic Talk To Me (2007)
telling the story of how Cheadle goes from prison to become a major
participating voice in The Civil Rights movement.
The
transition begins when radio executive Dewey Hughes (the always engaging
Chiwetel Ejiofor) visits his brother (Mike Epps) in jail and hears about
Greene. At first, Dewey thinks nothing
or it, but eventually, the two have their paths cross and when Greene looks up
Hughes for a job, the station and its hierarchy (including a boss played by
Martin Sheen) have zero desire to hire.
However, as things slowly change, Greene finds his way on the air and is
a big hit.
The
dialogue is the rawest of any studio release this year, yet is not outright
vulgar because it is in context to the events and changes of the time,
reflecting them vividly. Cheadle and
Ejiofor make a great clashing duo and the nearly two-hours are never boring,
filled with all kinds of energy and for Lemmons, this is a real home run of a
film.
With only
limited theatrical release, this could be an awards contender, but the one
thing we know now is that it is an amazing film and with the great directing,
great supporting cast and a solid screenplay by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa
(based on Genet’s story) produce more of the kind of film Hollywood was capable
of producing all the time. That makes Talk To Me one of this year’s few
must-see films.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 VC-1 digital High Definition image is nicely shot in Super 35mm by
Director of Photography Stéphane Fontaine with an authentic feel for the
era. Warren Alan Young’s production
design is impressive (especially considering this had a limited budget) and
Gersha Phillips delivers authentic-looking clothes. This looks really good on HD-DVD with rich
Video Black, consistent color and detail only a 35mm print (like the good one I
screened) can surpass. The DVD-Video
side of the combo and separate, stand alone DVD-Video are very similar in this
case, both anamorphically enhanced and consistent for the format.
Universal
thankfully uses Dolby TrueHD 5.1 for the HD side and standard Dolby Digital 5.1
in the other cases and though the mix may pull somewhat towards the front
speakers in all cases, the fidelity of the music and clean recording of
dialogue, sound effects and ambiance make up for less uses of surrounds. The combination, especially in the HD case,
is very watchable and entertaining.
Extras
include deleted scenes and two featurettes on the film. One is about Greene, the other a making-of
piece. I would have liked even more, but
the film has much rewatchability and is not to be missed.
- Nicholas Sheffo
