Aardvark Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Aardvark Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 11, 2018

Mental health, isolation, and an unusual relationship triangle are the coupled subjects of first-time writer/director Brian Shoaf's Aardvark. The film struggles to find an identity and purpose but it's perhaps those very struggles that are at its center, following a character who lives under the shadow of a more successful sibling and whose uneasy and wayward psychological state serves as the film's focus. Emotional well-being is always a tricky subject for cinema, asking the audience to connect with a mentally wayward, emotionally unstable, and physically unsure character. Aardvark never quite builds a compelling drama from its characters or components, despite an honest effort to explore an intriguingly skewered mind. Good performances elevate the film but a sometimes stagnant and struggling foundational construction neglect deeper insight and partially negate the impressive lead performance.

Josh Norman (Zachary Quinto) presents as a semi-normal man. He works at a coffee shop and gives what little money he can to a desperate homeless woman whom he sees frequently sifting through the trash out back. But he's a troubled individual, scarred by his past and an uneasy relationship with his brother Craig (Jon Hamm) who has found great success as a popular television star. Josh says he's “one of the greats of his generation.” Josh begins therapy with a new doctor, Emily Milburton (Jenny Slate), who probes her patient but finds him a difficult case. She's intrigued by his relationship with Craig, and Craig's arrival in town has spurred Josh to return to therapy. Before Craig meets with his brother, he tracks down Emily. She's instantly taken by his charms and good looks and the two begin an intimate relationship, which complicates matters for Josh, even as he's begun to see a young lady named Hannah (Sheila Vand).

Aardvark’s story essentials are straightforward. The story whittles down to a patient and his therapist and his therapist’s relationship with his brother, but it’s in the interconnectedness of that triangle and the film’s deeper explorations of Josh’s mental hangups and uneasiness that see the movie struggle to find cohesion. But perhaps that’s the point. The film is a reflection of how Josh sees the world, literally in some cases and metaphorically in others. Characters suddenly morph into his brother, not physically but rather by his own perception. He sees him in a bag lady and converses with him. An off-duty cop enjoying some downtime at his coffee shop becomes Craig, and the two recreate a moment from their childhood when they swipe a couple of bicycles for a joyride. But the film never quite does get to the bottom of the relationship Josh has with his brother, which is obviously the driving force behind his awkwardness and instability. And perhaps the film’s inability -- or unwillingness -- to reach an answer is a further reflection of the character’s approach to and place in the world. It’s a difficult story to tell and an even more difficult film to explore, which can be a positive or a negative, but it does leave the viewer feeling more frustrated than fulfilled for having gone on the journey through Josh’s life and mind during a key moment of his existence without really coming away with a better understanding of who he is and why he is as he is.

With that in mind, Quinto is very convincing and successful in the role, and his performance largely saves the movie. He never lifts the confusing material to compelling, but he does craft a well defined character, at least well defined within his confused internal world. He never lets down his guard but he never brings it up fully, either. He’s open with his therapist but that doesn’t necessarily mean the character fully opens himself to her, or to the audience. Quinto has carefully crafted the character to remain ambiguous, to reveal the foundational constructs of his mental state but to never explore them in full. The work here is compelling, though the actor seems limited not by his understanding of the character but rather the filmmakers’ understanding of what to do with Josh, how to present him, where to allow Quinto to go with the role. It’s frustrating to see a craftsman like Quinto stymied like this, but he reveals just enough, and with enough sincerity of character and situation, to keep the viewer interested, even if his structural support is lacking. Jenny Slate and Jon Hamm struggle to find their characters, too. Everyone in the film is lost in their own way, not physically, of course (unless one counts Craig asking for directions when he first appears in the movie), but in a larger sense of self. Nether Emily’s nor Craig’s character are defined with enough complexity to allow their motivations and views of and approaches to their own lives, their world, and one another to present with compelling depth.

Aardvark Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aardvark's 1080p image is very good. It was shot digitally but the presentation is agreeably filmic. It's sharp and reveals positive depth with only handful of lower light scenes appearing flat and a little smooth, such as an apartment stairwell scene in chapter eight, which is lit poorly and favors a flat shade of gray. Facial stubble, Quinto's and Hamm's thick hair (good genes!), and some of the grime and wear in Josh's apartment really impress with ease of visual complexity. But it's those facial close-ups that really excel, and the complexity and ease of presentation rate right up there with the best the format has to offer. The color palette generally is very impressive. Hues are naturally bright and well saturated, presenting with a balanced, neutral tone that allows for plenty of pop without overselling any shade. Nighttime black levels are a plus. Black depth is strong with little push to gray and no appearance of crush. Skin tones appear spot-on. No significantly intrusive source or encode flaws of note are apparent. This is a very good Blu-ray presentation from Universal.

Aardvark Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Aardvark features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film's sonic needs are relatively light. Music is a priority and highlight, and its reproduction is just fine, playing with positive instrumental separation and clarity, dominant front-side positioning and plenty of width, and modest but obvious surround integration. Atmospherics are light and limited to a few scenes but fold nicely enough into the soundtrack to help, very subtly, pull the listener into a few different key places throughout the movie. Dialogue is unsurprisingly the primary sound driver in the film, and the presentation is without obvious flaw in terms of clarity, placement, and prioritization.

Aardvark Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Aardvark contains one supplement, aptly titled Making of 'Aardvark' (1080p, 6:08). This extra features cast and crew discussing characters, story structure, and themes. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

Aardvark Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aardvark is one of those films that is more potential, more missed opportunity, more bits-and-pieces good than it is collectively excellent. The end product is frustrating, perhaps deliberately in an effort to skewer the movie, and the audience, to Josh's view of the world and place in it. Quinto is terrific in the lead, limited by a script that doesn't quite seem sure of what to do with its own lead, those around him, and the world in which he exists, but he seems to at least have a firm grasp of who Josh is and what his story has to say. Universal's Blu-ray offers first-class picture, a simple but effective 5.1 lossless soundtrack, and one supplement. Worth a rental.