An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 7, 2019

A celebrated author in her native New Zealand, Janet Frame decided she didn’t want others to tell her own story, eventually issuing three autobiographies to sufficiently cover the extent of her experiences in her homeland and beyond. With the release of “To the Is-Land,” “An Angel at My Table,” and “The Envoy from Mirror City,” Frame offered a full understanding of the horrors and personal awakenings she experienced as she became a woman, richly detailing her memories and the perceptions. For direction Jane Campion, the opportunity to dramatize these tales was irresistible. Working from a screenplay by Laura Jones, Campion creates a “trilogy” with “An Angel at My Table,” which was originally created as a television mini- series, soon reworked into a chapter-based feature film, bringing the scope of Frame’s life to the screen with the lengthy run time it deserves. Protective of the subject’s work, Campion shows extreme care for Frame’s journey, providing remarkable casting and locations for the story, while Jones has the decidedly more pressurized job of condensing such extraordinary turns of fate into a cohesive endeavor.

As a young girl in New Zealand, Janet Frame (played by Alexia Keogh) struggled to fit in with her classmates, dealing with poverty in an overcrowded home, while her bushy red hair and lack of cleanliness helped to make Janet an outsider. As she grows into a teenager (Karen Fergusson), Janet experiences the beginnings of a future as an educator she doesn’t want, hoping to develop her writing skills instead, digging into poetry to inform her work. As an adult (Kerry Fox), Janet learns more about the cruelty of the world, with her personal issues misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, sending her into a psychiatric hospital for years, with her gifts nearly wiped away by barbaric treatments. Struggling to become the woman she wants to be, Janet fights to keep her head above water, striving to experience the world, interpreting her journeys in her own special way.

“An Angel at My Table” is divided into three parts, but the segments aren’t separated by age. Instead, Jones spends some time with Frame as a child and teenager, getting to understand her impulses, including a need to be accepted by her peers, which comes to be impossible when offering unusual looks and signs of poverty. Early scenes examine Janet’s home life, where she’s wedged into a domestic routine with her multiple brothers and sisters, growing observant with the group as they pile into beds, create harmonies, and experience a few tragedies along the way, including the loss of a sister due to an accidental drowning. There’s love for Janet, but she struggles to find her place, which becomes an issue during her adolescence, experimenting with friends and education, with her senses coming alive when writing. She finds her bliss on the page, though Janet doesn’t have many people to share her creativity with beyond some supportive teachers and siblings.

The picture comes alive when Fox assumes command of Janet, as adulthood delivers a more defined emotional journey. There are idiosyncrasies to highlight, including Frame’s love of chocolate and experimentation with bad behavior. Her panic when it comes to the shackles of a career in education is vividly captured by Fox and Campion, with Janet literally escaping from responsibility and performance she doesn’t want, committing to writing as her vocation. However, controlling people stand in her way, including those pushing her to “rest” inside a psychiatric hospital, where she spends eight years coming to terms with mental illness she doesn’t have, subjected to electric shock treatment and prepped for a lobotomy that’s eventually canceled. The midsection of “An Angel at My Table” is harrowing, with Fox feeling everything as Janet, giving a full-body performance that’s remarkably rich with vulnerabilities and wholly authentic, becoming Frame for Campion, who backs her with a tastefully organized overview of a life lived on the edge of panic.

An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Billed as a "High-definition restoration, supervised by director of photography Stuart Dryburgh and approved by director Jane Campion," the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't come across as a fresh scan, offering blockier grain. Colors are acceptable, bringing out the brightness of locations, with greenery and blue waters. Frame's red hair is also a major focal point, along with her costuming, which works through various period wear, preserving primaries. Interiors secure earth tones and faded paint jobs. Skintones are natural. Detail goes about as far as possible with the original cinematography, delivering a decent view of facial particulars and fibrous outfits, and distances are dimensional. Delineation isn't problematic. Jumpy frames are common during the viewing experience, which retains harsh splices, but damage and debris have been managed.

An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix deals primarily with dialogue exchanges, which clarify accents and emotional intensity, offering a clear understanding of performances, especially from Fox, who goes insular (and mumbly) as Janet on many occasions. Scoring is defined to satisfaction, with crisp instrumentation, and vocal performances are sharp. Surrounds aren't employed often, but atmospherics come through at times, creating a circular understanding of outdoor adventures and echoed room tone. Low-end isn't challenged.

An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (38 pages) offers production information, an essay from Amy Taubin, transfer details, and excerpts from "An Autobiography" by Janet Frame.

• Commentary features director Jane Campion, actress Kerry Fox, and cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh.

• "The Making of 'Angel at My Table'" (10:23, SD) is a brief overview of Jane Campion's creative journey, with the helmer sharing her fascination with Janet Frame and her own personal history. An impression of Frame is given, and identification of the director's influences are shared. Campion also details the New Zealand shoot, taking in the beauty of the land, and Kerry Fox offers her thoughts on the acting challenge. Some interesting BTS footage is provided, watching Campion direct Fox as they add narration to the feature, and the production journey takes the director to the Venice Film Festival, where she fields questions from the press and collects the Silver Lion for "An Angel at My Table."

• Deleted Scenes (3:16, SD) are brief snippets of character beats from Frame's three ages, and some travel moments.

• "My Say" (23:22) is a 1983 audio interview with Frame, conducted by New Zealand radio producer Elizabeth Alley.

• Still Gallery (:59) includes personal photos with the cast and crew, BTS snaps, and pictures of Frame visiting the set and spending time with the actors.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:44, SD) is included.

An Angel at My Table Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"An Angel at My Table" presents an adaptation challenge for Jones, who elects to offer little bits of everything from Frame's books instead of a grand arc of experience. Such episodic storytelling creates some confusion as times, with certain passages of the film disjointed as Frame begins to take on the world, conquering her fears. Characterization isn't hurt along the way, as Campion preserves an understanding of Janet's growth and independence, creating a meaningful portrait of an artist grasping who she really is, defining identity while subjected to constant judgment. It's a beautiful idea, and "An Angel at My Table" is a lovely picture.