Look (2007/Anchor Bay DVD)

 

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

 

 

Adam Rifkin’s Look (2007) is yet another gimmick feature that actually starts out with some promise, but by the time it is over, it is a mess loaded with missed opportunities and no point.  It wants to be Crash, but never heard of Robert Altman, then become eventually so silly and uneven that even the voyeur aspect (did not understand Hitchcock either) becomes a joke in the middle of its 102 minutes.  It could have had a point, but seems more interested in being hip and like reality TV than anything else.

 

To its credit, it has some good ideas and some good acting from actors that are clearly trying, but the problem is that not all the acting, actors and situations are good, so you soon know you are being had when the situations are not matching and too many seem staged.  The result is a failure that should not have been if the director was concentrating, playing more attention and had something to say.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot in various low definition video formats and though it may be considered “realistic” by its makers and is even edited with better care than expected, it is still poor throughout and nothing to write home about.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is really stretching it in terms of where to put the sound that is either location sound or a facsimile.  Extras include trailer, TV spots, outtakes, alternate/deleted scenes that do not add up to much, audio commentary track and behind the scenes featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo