Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Blithe Spirit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 4, 2021

“Blithe Spirit” is a filmed version of a highly successful 1941 play by Noel Coward, which inspired a 1945 David Lean big screen adaptation, starring Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Kay Hammond. A beloved light comedy from a sharp wit, Coward’s imagination is resurrected by screenwriters Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard, and Nick Moorcroft, who try to do something with the material for another interpretation. The trio get a little angrier this time around, offering a slightly heavier take on Coward’s vision while still attempting to maintain comic rhythms with a game cast who seem genuinely delighted to be participating in this project. “Blithe Spirit” has select moments of enjoyable insanity, but the farcical aspects of the work don’t come through with any distinction in the new version. Director Edward Hall (a television veteran) makes a pretty picture, but one that doesn’t sustain enough energy to the end, giving viewers less and less as the feature tries to bring Coward to a new audience.

In 1937, celebrated crime novelist Charles (Dan Stevens) is struggling to come up with his latest book, dealing with a crippling case of writer’s block. His wife, Ruth (Isla Fisher), tries to be supportive, watching her husband lose his mind and sexual performance while trying to make anything happen on the page. Looking for a break, the pair visits a theater show starring Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), a medium whose gifts are exposed during a mid-performance mishap. Looking for a laugh and perhaps some inspiration, Charles invites Arcati to his home, becoming part of a séance with Ruth and friends Violet (Emilia Fox) and Dr. George (Julian Rhind-Tutt). The evening proves to be more active than originally imagined, and soon Elvira (Leslie Mann), Charles’s dead wife, materializes on property, delighted to be reunited with her husband. Dealing with the madness of such an event, Charles begins to lean on Elvira for story ideas, leaving Ruth to increasingly hostile feelings of jealousy as she’s forced to compete with a ghost.

“Blithe Spirit” gets its engine running with a lively first act, welcoming viewers to Charles’s misery, living in a mansion that’s filled with reminders of his past successes. He’s aching for inspiration, unable to do anything but drink and stare at a blank page, tasked with adapting his first novel for a film adaptation, with Ruth’s father, Henry (Simon Kunz), eager to get his hands on anything as a producer waiting for his next big hit. Anxieties are palpable for the writer, who can’t pull anything out of himself, while his marriage acquires some level of divide as Charles admits to Dr. George that he’s impotent, with the medical professional offering his pal some methamphetamine to supercharge his system. “Blithe Spirit” launches impressively, providing clarity with character consternations and a distinct mission into the unknown with Arcati, a medium whose trickery is exposed at a theater performance but treasured by Charles and Ruth, who welcome her theatricality.

Elvira joins the story in the second act, materializing only for Charles, who’s stuck trying to communicate with a ghost while others are pained to see him fall into madness. What should inspire some premiere mischief is rendered slightly underwhelming by Hall, who has Coward’s finger-snap timing to work with, but it doesn’t translate to the new take in full. The story focuses on Elvira’s growing presence as Charles’s muse, helping him to restore his artistic honor with great ideas for plot and character. With Ruth on the outside of this relationship, “Blithe Spirit” teases moments of slapstick and heated resentments, but little comes together with expected feeling. Fisher and Mann are up for the challenge, delivering sharply excitable performances, and if one must put Stevens in anything, it’s this style of comedy, finding a suitable home for his stiff Englishness. Dench is the real surprise, exposing a looseness that hasn’t been seen in a long time. The cast is ready to pounce on the picture, but “Blithe Spirit” feels weirdly inert even at its most frenetic, with Coward’s ideas not translating into a carnival ride of feelings and actions.

Blithe Spirit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation secures compelling detail during the viewing experience, with skin particulars present throughout, exploring age and makeup designs. Costuming is fibrous, exploring a range period outfits, and interiors are loaded with decorative additions. Exteriors are dimensional as well, visiting deep tennis courts and property visits. Colors are bright, presenting distinct primaries, drawn to sharp reds and blues, and greenery is exact. Skintones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Some banding is detected.

Blithe Spirit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix preserves dialogue, offering crisp voices and accents during the listening event. Musical offerings are just as sharp, keeping up the jazzy mood with distinct instrumentation. Low-end isn't challenged, but more active physical movement and sound effects deliver some weight. Surrounds are strong with atmospherics, capturing city and tennis court bustle, along with theater activity. Supernatural events also register with activity, and music pushes out at times.

Blithe Spirit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (7:09, HD) is an EPK-style overview of production achievements, using interviews recorded on-set with cast and crew. Story points, character history, comedic timing, and technical efforts are shared, and some interesting BTS footage is offered, but not nearly enough.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:22, HD) is included.

Blithe Spirit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tech credits on "Blithe Spirit" are outstanding, with lighting, set design, and costuming achievements often more interesting to watch than the central crisis of a literal ghost writer. Movie industry additions are also inviting, opening the scope of the material to add extra pressure on Charles. It's the overall flow of tensions and humor that doesn't come through with enough vigor in "Blithe Spirit." It's easy on the senses with intermittent highlights, but as something intended to present a more rolling display of panic, the new version comes across a bit too slack to satisfy.