5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
This intense thriller follows one man’s path to execution and the strong-minded doctor brought in to take a deeper look at the violent circumstances that have doomed him. Jackson Shea (Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau) has lived a life of deceit, brutality and corruption. But when a series of chilling, violent events lands him on Death Row, one psychologist (Denise Richards) must determine whether his violent behavior is inherent in his soul, or if he is able to be rehabilitated and saved from execution. Also starring Bruce Dern, Columbus Short, Johnny Messner, Michael Paré and featuring Stipe Miocic and Rob Gronkowski.
Starring: Bruce Dern, Denise Richards, Kaiwi Lyman, Columbus Short, Rob GronkowskiThriller | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Is the United States an inherently violent culture or are we simply the victims (literally and figuratively) of bad luck? It’s a provocative question, and one which provided fodder for the exploitation documentary The Killing of America. American Violence wants to examine some of the same tendencies as that now long ago documentary, but in a fictionalized and increasingly improbable way, an approach which undercuts its none too subtle message that killing is bad, even when it’s a societally condoned execution. The film begins with a rather shocking sequence detailing a nasty old man (played by Bruce Dern) who is berating his wife for not making his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches correctly. The wife commendably isn’t taking the old guy’s guff, but suddenly a man bursts into the home and viciously stabs the old guy—repeatedly. If American Violence were a television show, this would be the pre-credits tease.
American Violence is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The closing credits state the film was captured with Alexa cameras, and the result is the typically very sharp and precise looking detail levels that this technology typically offers. That said, there are also recurrent deficits in the many dimly lit scenes, including a lot within the prison environment, with regard to shadow detail. The film has commendably not been overly aggressively color graded, though there is a tendency toward yellow in several sequences and couple of uses of the ever trendy blue tones. The film really pops quite well during some flashback sequences when it gets out into the bright sunshine, but a lot of the film is intentionally drab and dreary looking and as a result the palette doesn't pop overly well, though detail levels tend to be well above average.
American Violence features an intermittently robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I say with only a touch of tongue being firmly in cheek that some of the most forceful surround activity comes courtesy of the Status Media and Entertainment banner that the Blu-ray boots to, which features a glut of what sounds like machine gun fire echoing through the side and rear channels. There is some good use of ambient environmental sounds, at least when the film ventures out of the prison environment, including a kind of whistling wind that wafts through the surround channels as the actual film begins. While dialogue is always presented cleanly, the film has mixed Andrew Joslyn's string drenched score way too high for my personal taste, to the point that it simply overpowers rather than supports certain key scenes (pay attention during the scene when Shea's mother finds out he's been abused for a particularly apt example).
There's no doubt a meaningful film to be made about capital punishment, that is of course if one doesn't already feel offerings like Dead Man Walking haven't already filled that particular bill. One way or the other, American Violence is not that film. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.
2017
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