Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Aloft Blu-ray Movie Review

Adrift.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 22, 2015

Aloft is a movie about deeply held pain and the rift that pain creates between mother and son. Sadly, that pain and rift can be transposed to the relationship between movie and audience. Aloft is a well-meaning but flawed film that sloppily maneuvers through its inter-character drama. It struggles to find a center and a rhythm on the way to that center, meandering through the characters' pasts and presents. Little is given satisfactory explanation or development. It's as if the film assumes audience knowledge of the characters, at least a deeper knowledge than the movie provides. Viewers are often left hanging as the film pushes forward with deep-seeded character moments that never feel fully defined. It does all come together at the end in a beautifully simple moment of great catharsis, but it's a case of too little, too late for a film in which the emotional payoff isn't supported by an appropriately intimate and precisely tuned lead-up.

Are we there yet?

Nana Kunning (Jennifer Connelly) takes her sickly son Gully (Winta McGrath) to see a faith healer who can only cure patients who win his lottery. Gully does not win and is ultimately killed when he accidentally falls under a sheet of ice. Much of the blame is laid on Gully's brother Ivan (Zen McGrath). Ivan and Nana go their separate ways. Twenty years pass. Nana has become a faith healer of some renown. Meanwhile, Ivan (Cillian Murphy) has grown into a promising falconer who becomes the subject of interest for a journalist named Jannia Ressmore (Mélanie Laurent) whose interest in Ivan isn't all it appears to be. Ivan's work with Ressmore sets him on a path to reunite with his estranged mother and confront the demons from his past.

The film's bleak, cold, barely habitable Arctic setting certainly sets the appropriate mood for the story and provides a canvas that's reflective of its subjects. Like the environment, the characters feel distant and the story one of frozen anguish that neither place nor time can thaw. The environment isn't the only metaphor, however. The concept of the "faith healer" is an obvious one, and while the broader development and finer execution leaves a bit to be desired, the idea satisfies the film's deeper, inward conflicts that aren't resolved with a lottery, a handmade structure, and a touch but rather a a long overdue openness and honesty. It's a film about open wounds, festering wounds, the mental anguish and the physical distance that results, pains that even the greatest healer cannot remedy -- even if the victim is the one closest to her -- without a meeting in the middle ground. It's a shame that Aloft cannot set itself straight. Though its core idea is a simple one, there's much potential to more deeply explore the metaphors that surround it and the concepts that define it, but the film plays with far too much of a scattered, uncertain feel to fully grasp, at least on a first viewing.

Indeed, Aloft may well be a film that works better on a second viewing, the audience armed with the foreknowledge of what's coming and why. While the emotional payoff may immediately seem lessened, the deeper connection with the characters may ultimately elevate the finale in the long term. Still, even a first viewing seems to suggest that the movie is missing something, be that in narrative structure, more precisely defined purpose, or just sloppy work in the editing room. Various sources suggest the movie runs anywhere between 112 and 116 minutes; Sony's home video cut runs a mere 97 minutes, suggesting there could be nearly 20 minutes of material absent from this cut. That might explain quite a bit about the movie's rather vague structure and choppy flow. Whatever the issue, it's certainly not with the cast. Both Connelly and Murphy deliver understated, yet authentic, performances, portraying individuals who are very much openly wounded and clearly struggling with those wounds, even if they're kept under metaphorical lock and key deep inside. They save the movie, and that final scene makes it worth watching, even if the journey towards it should have been just as satisfying.

Aloft Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aloft's 1080p transfer accentuates the film's cold palette. The film is made mostly of shades of snowy white and gray, blues, and bits of earthy woods and support colors. Lower light scenes can push a little pasty, but the somewhat reserved, visually bleak appearance translates well to the 1080p display. Details are largely satisfying, with complex facial features easily resolved. Winter coats with fur lining are precisely appointed, with every strand readily identifiable. Black levels are deep and pleasing. Flesh tones are a bit cool, and understandably so. The transfer suffers from no readily identifiable examples of macroblocking, aliasing, banding, noise, or other maladies. This is a simple but strong transfer from Sony.

Aloft Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Aloft features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's the perfect compliment to the film's distant, cold visuals. The main attraction here is a lingering, blustery, chilly wind that swirls around the stage with ceaseless command of the entire listening area. Every blast, bit of debris, cold slamming onto skin is heard and practically felt as it effortlessly draws the listener into the Arctic environment. The early time spent with the healer offers a genuinely robust and immersive crowd din. Various examples of lesser ambience are nicely integrated with pinpoint placement and delivery around the stage. Dialogue is delivered with firm, natural center placement and consistently articulate definition.

Aloft Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included is the theatrical trailer for Aloft (1080p, 2:16) and previews (1080p) for other Sony titles.

Aloft Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aloft is teeming with dramatic potential, and even two great performances and a satisfying, if not predictable, end cannot save a movie that's otherwise poorly structured and lacking in more tightly defined emotional character development. The film feels scattershot at best, presenting an obviously strong and thoughtful foundation on top of which there's not much of value. Sony's Blu-ray release of Aloft features high end video and audio. Extras are unfortunately limited to a trailer; a commentary would have been most beneficial. Rent it.