1/1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

1/1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 20, 2018

It’s difficult to tell if “1/1” has autobiographical ties to writer/director Jeremy Phillips, but it certainly plays as much, emerging with a level of passion and personal perspective that’s explosive at times. It’s also a movie that doesn’t invite outsiders into the intense psychological inspection, finding Phillips too concentrated on the construction of the film, forgetting to provide a reason why anyone should care about the story. It’s an artful journey into the folds of depression, and Phillips is careful with every frame of the endeavor. As technically advanced as it is, “1/1” is also cold to the touch, making whatever inspired this effort difficult to discern as the helmer arranges a sensory assault that’s tough to sit through.

Lissa (Lindsey Shaw) has recently turned 20 and her life has gone nowhere. She’s a waitress, a job she hates, turning to self-medication with booze and drugs, and now she’s facing a pregnancy scare, coming to terms with the recent decisions she’s made. As her mind races, she considers the last two years of her life, trying to understand the depths of depression her father, Robert (Judd Nelson), endured, while facing an estranged relationship with her mother, Joan (Dendrie Taylor), a person she needs now more than ever. Waiting on a blood test to confirm what she fears, Lissa examines her existence with help from her diary, filing through experiences and mistakes to get a better idea of the woman she is today.

“1/1” doesn’t provide a traditional narrative path, instead working itself into a frenzy with filmmaking manipulation. Phillips creates the world of the feature through edits, still images, and format tinkering, playing with both film and video sources. The effort resembles a modern art installation, with images doing most of the heavy lifting, representing the blizzard of thoughts and feelings filling Lissa’s mind. However, Phillips expects viewers to sit through 80 minutes of fact cuts and inserts, which is typically fodder for shorts, rendering “1/1” fatiguing, with the opening act pretty much showcasing everything Phillips wants to share with the picture.

Lissa’s woes are immediate in “1/1,” with the first half of the script examining her skyrocketing anxieties at the doctor’s office, surrounded by patients who are also experiencing one of the worst days of their lives. Lissa has her diary and her inner-monologue, poring over every mistake she’s made since high school, including her relationship with Daniel, a boyfriend who moved on to college while she stayed home, returning with maturation as they tentatively continue on with their sex life. The second half of “1/1” delves into Lissa’s relationship with Robert, a lifelong coal miner who’s been supportive, but recently lost contact with reality, falling into depressive extremes. He’s the link to Lissa’s pain, and Phillips tries to make a mystery out of the old man’s behavior, which, due to frenzied editing, doesn’t take hold as securely as it could.

Phillips has trouble building a bridge between the storytelling sides, but it doesn’t help that “1/1” has little heart. There’s so much effort going into the construction of the picture, Phillips loses interest in emotional passages, with artifice generally leading the viewing experience. It’s certainly an impressive achievement in form, but “1/1” grows numbing as it keeps Lissa’s heartbreak at arm’s length, while the swing from a pregnancy scare to parental issues isn’t smoothly executed, leaving the last act to argumentative behavior that doesn’t inspire riveting drama.

1/1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.89:1 aspect ratio) presentation contributes a sharp look at the frenzied filmmaking of "1/1." Detail is exceptional, isolating facial particulars to best showcase emotional wear and tear, and set decoration is clearly defined, adding to the viewing experience. Outdoors are deep and textured, with the rural setting captured. Costuming is fibrous. Colors are also healthy, from the accelerated hues of Lissa's whirring mind to real- world hues, finding greenery appealing and clothing varied. Skintones are stable. Delineation is acceptable. Some banding is detected, and blocking is present.

1/1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix remains quite active, in charge of creating a claustrophobic space that mirrors Lissa's daily life. Sound effects are emphasized, with precise tapping of arms and lighting of cigarettes, and atmospherics are communicative, grabbing a feel for tight rooms and open air. Dialogue exchanges are sharp and true, capturing emotional nuances and confrontations with care. Scoring is supportive, with exact instrumentation, while heavier beats give the low-end something to do.

1/1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Unreleased Liars Track (3:23, HD) presents a deleted song with still images from the movie.

• Storyboard to Film (4:19, HD) details the creation of an opening scene for "1/1," identifying the exactness of planning from Phillips, who secures every cut and image. Interestingly, the storyboard art is terrific, suggesting the material was perhaps best suited for a graphic novel, not a film.

• And a Trailer (1:10, HD) is included.

1/1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"1/1" is disjointed and perhaps too eager to impress on a filmic level. There are some positives, including a committed lead performance from Shaw, who follows Phillips's lead dutifully, posing when necessary and tearing up when asked to do so. It's difficult to see a character here, but physicality holds together. A supporting turn from Taylor helps the script locate the frustration it's often hunting for, and it's fun to see Nelson onscreen again, though his part is largely expressionistic, tasked with portraying the downfall of an honest man without the benefit of dialogue. There's certainly power in the moviemaking, which strives with every single frame to feed into a larger depiction of internal unrest and mental blockage, tracking Lissa's awakening about her life and her upbringing while facing the biggest test to her endurance yet. However, as carefully planned as "1/1" is, it doesn't breathe as a work of emotional resonance, ultimately acting as a directorial calling card than a heartfelt examination of a young life in flux.