Nothing But The Truth (2008/Sony DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
I have
mixed feelings about the work of Rod Lurie.
I thought The Contender was
overrated despite being so celebrated, while The Last Castle was underrated.
Commander In Chief was even
an underrated TV series. Now comes Nothing But The Truth (2008), a decent
political film with a solid story to tell about a reporter who finds protecting
her source is no longer protected by a U.S. Government that has trashed civil
rights, journalism and in effect undermined a cornerstone of democracy.
The
underrated Kate Beckinsale plays that reporter, Angela Bassett her support at
her newspaper, Matt Dillon the government official who wants to know how she
knew top secret information she had published that no one is supposed to know
and Alan Alda her lawyer when things get ugly.
Noah Wylie and Vera Farmiga also star in a very well cast, well acted
film. I liked it all the way to the
conclusion, yet once again, I felt Lurie did not go further and always seems to
stop short of what I would like him to say and do. There is always more to say when his films
end and that should not be considered a good thing for the sake of causing
conversation when all is over.
It should
go further so any conversation becomes something more palpable and pro
active. Despite its limits, it is worth
a good look and deserves a larger audience.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is far softer than I expected, but is a
good shoot and it is a shame this is not on Blu-ray yet to compare. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is much better,
with a surprisingly good soundfield and well-recorded dialogue. Extras include deleted scenes, a making of
featurette and feature length audio commentary by Lurie.
- Nicholas Sheffo
