Adoration Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Adoration Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 21, 2021

Director Fabrice du Welz was last seen on screens with 2017’s “Message from the King,” a largely forgettable endeavor that provided the helmer with a taste of Hollywood-style filmmaking, working with a decent budget and big stars, including Chadwick Boseman. Feeling a bit burned by the experience, du Welz returns to more personal storytelling with 2019’s “Adoration,” which has more in common with early efforts like “Alleluia” and “Vinyan.” He’s not making a horror movie with the offering, but “Adoration” triggers a few chills as it examines the ravages of mental illness and the destructive purity of a boy’s heart.

Paul (Thomas Gioria) is a 12-year-old boy raised by his single mother near a mental health facility. He doesn’t have friends, absorbing the world’s wonders on his own, and this stillness is shattered by the arrival of Gloria (Fantine Harduin), a teenager with severe psychological issues who refuses to be locked up. Falling in love with the stranger, Paul responds to her cries for help, organizing an escape that sends the couple on a trip through rural Belgium, meeting people who want to offer help, but remain just as unsteady as Gloria.

“Adoration” doesn’t pursue shock value, with du Welz (who co-writes the picture) aiming for a more of a Malick-ian experience, finding Paul working out his relationship with nature while Gloria rides the highs and lows of her manic episodes. This unusual chemistry fuels much of “Adoration,” with a prison break-style moment at the hospital inspiring a trek across Belgium, with the children not necessarily getting to know each other, but they better understand individual needs, trying out survival for the first time.

Complications arrive with the addition of outsiders who don’t quite know what to do with the visitors, with one couple having trouble recognizing personal boundaries, while another man is drowning in his own ocean of pain. Turns of plot are welcome, but du Welz is better with moments of reflection and exploration, with the endeavor gorgeously shot by cinematographer Manuel Dacosse, who keeps the effort atmospheric and poetic, even when the production gets a little carried away with quaky handheld shots in the name of independent film realism.

Adoration Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.38:1 aspect ratio) presentation explores 16mm cinematography with heavy and film-like grain, also capturing precise colors, including natural skintones, and excursions into nature deliver lush greenery. Clothing maintains deep primaries. with distinct pinks and reds. Detail offers clear skin surfaces, with close-ups textured, along with forest visits and open world shots, which offer ideal dimension. Interior decoration is easily surveyed. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in excellent condition.

Adoration Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA provides appreciation for the naturalistic world around the lead characters, finding atmospherics lively with forest and waterway visits, and room tone is captured throughout. Dialogue exchanges are sharp and emotive, also balanced comfortably, as Gloria is prone to screaming fits. Music is defined, with sharp instrumentation. Low-end isn't challenged.

Adoration Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (6:18, HD) offer an extended moment with Paul and Gloria at a wedding reception.

• Interview (33:21, HD) is a conversation with co-writer/director Fabrice du Welz, who details the writing process, medical research, biographical touches, cinematic inspirations, casting achievements, the use of 16mm to shoot the film, lighting choices, his "Ardennes Trilogy," and his next project.

• And a U.S. Trailer (1:52, HD) is included.

Adoration Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Adoration" isn't a comfortable sit, as Gloria is clearly not well, suffering through her illness while Paul watches, not mature enough to deal with the situation, powered by the innocence of pre-teen infatuation. This is not a love story, but something more intimate from du Welz, who's trying to shape a tale of mutual support that's gradually revealed to be painfully one-sided, tapping into adolescent behaviors and thinking, putting two distressed characters into a world that's teeming with beauty, but also populated with troubled people.