6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Falsely accused of distributing narcotics in a school zone, Dee Roberts (Beharie) is offered a deal she can't refuse: plead guilty and accept a 10-year suspended sentence. The alternative: risk serving 16-to-25 in jail. Realizing a conviction would ruin her life, Dee decides to fight back. Suing the DA for racial discrimination, Dee battles impossible odds in a case that will not only change her life but the laws of Texas as well.
Starring: Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Michael O'Keefe, XzibitDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Big Issue movies often walk a fine line between point making and storytelling, as righteous indignation, even when well meaning, frequently leads to didactic, one-sided diatribes. After all, no hand is heavier than the one holding an ax to grind. The temptation is to make one-note villains out of perpetrators of social injustice, to demonize and malign instead of examine or explore, and, on the other side, to beatify the oppressed for their martyr-like suffering. It’s a comparison I often make, but I can think of no issue-centric fiction more evenhanded than HBO’s The Wire, a brilliant series that explores, over its five seasons, a whole catalog of inner-city ills, from drug use and gang violence to political corruption and the cycle of poverty. In The Wire, there is no easy moralizing, no simple solutions to incredibly multifaceted problems. Instead, the show investigates all sides of the issues, from the top down and the bottom up, drawing awareness to their complexity instead of merely pointing fingers. While American Violet has its heart in the right place—no one deserves being vilified more than bigot redneck politicians—the film forgoes shades of grey for a story that literally and figuratively presents its characters as black and white. Still, if you can look past the one-sidedness and conventionality of the plot, the film is an affecting portrait of racial injustice in small-town America.
If the title American Violet makes you think of vivid, eye-popping colors, you've got another thing coming. The film's 1080p/AVC encoded transfer is full of drab, moody tones—a palette that's perfect for this kind of docu-drama. The overall image is slightly stylized, with a faint yellowish cast —visible in white highlights—flattering skin tones, and colors that are warm, rich, and stable, even if they don't necessarily leap off the screen. In fact, for such a modestly budgeted film, I was impressed by the results this transfer achieves. Detail is readily apparent in facial textures, background objects are nicely resolved, and the image has a satisfying sense of presence and depth, all things considered. Contrast runs a little hot throughout, but I was pleased by the effect, and black levels seem almost perfectly tuned. Just examine the shadow detail apparent in the matte black of the SWAT team's rifles, or in the fabric of the dark-colored suits so prevalent in the film. Finally, the transfer sports a pleasing structure of fine, barely noticeable grain. There are a few instances of overheated white levels crushing detail, but these are minor and short-lived. Additionally, I spotted no overt technical issues with the transfer. There's not much in the way of eye candy here, but American Violet doesn't need defending in the PQ court of law.
Similarly, there's little about American Violet's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that's immediately impressive. Yet, the more I listened, the more I became aware of the subtle and engaging soundfield that the film creates. The opening drug bust is the film's biggest audio showcase, as it features helicopter rotors rushing through the rears with detailed whirring, frantic voices on both sides of the law, and an ominous LFE rumble. This is the only time that the track gets to show off the range it's capable of, but the rest of the film is immersive in more understated ways. Nearly every scene finds the rear channels alive with some kind of ambience, be it the jangling keys and slamming doors of a prison block, the residential babble of the projects, or a train chugging through surround speakers. Dialogue throughout is clean, clear, and coherent, making it easy to follow the logical twists and turns of the case. The only hiccup I noticed was a slight, split- second dropout that occurs at the 27:04 mark. Otherwise, the track isn't exactly demo material, but it does faithfully represent what you would expect to hear when looking at the image.
Commentary by Director Tim Disney
If Tim Disney's last name seems familiar, it's because he's the great nephew of Walt. Here, Disney
discusses how closely the story mirrors the actual events, the importance of proper casting, and
sundry details about the actors and themes in the film. The track gets spotty at times, but Disney is
clearly passionate about this project and the injustice that he sees in America's legal
system.
Telluride Film Festival: Conversations: American Violet (SD, 4:32)
This discussion with Nicole Beharie, Tim Disney, and Regina Kelly—the woman on whom the story is
based—is all too brief. They talk about the real situation in Hern, Texas, and the casting process, but
there's really not much here.
American Violet's message may not be subtle, but it is powerful and thought provoking. As a film, it's as predictable as they come, but the lack of surprises in the plot can be glossed over when considering the merit of the performances given by the cast of little-known and underappreciated actors. I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would, and if you're into socially conscious dramas, so might you. This one's worth a rental.
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