The Inner Life Of Martin Frost (2007/New Yorker Films DVD)
Picture: C Sound: D/C+ Extras: C- Film: C-
So many
films have tried to get inside the mind of a writer that it has almost become
its own cycle. Most films have been bad,
but sometimes we see the writer losing their mind (Naked Lunch) or even becoming a killer (The Shining, Basic Instinct). Paul Auster’s The Inner Life Of Martin Frost (2007) is about the title character
(David Thewlis) and the sudden guest (Irene Jacob) he finds in his house, his
guest bed.
As he
tries to understand where she came from and who she is, he continues to explore
himself and get on with his writing, the reason he is not home, only to meet
another figure (Michael Imperioli) who has some odd suggestions of his
own. Odd, sometimes interesting and
predictable in the long run, the film does not necessarily become muddy or
bogged down by anything, but it rarely goes anywhere new and despite the talent
involved, never takes off. Others seem
to have enjoyed it, but don’t expect much if you need to catch it.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is softer than expected, though it is
hard to tell if it is just a PAL/NTSC issue, but color is off, there is haloing
and no shot is ever as sharp as it could be.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 has a very bad mix, with poor dialogue and
lopsided soundfield, making the 2.0 option much preferred. Who knows what happened on that, but it is
not good. The only extras are a making
of featurette and trailers for this and a few other New Yorker releases.
- Nicholas Sheffo
