Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Boogie Woogie Blu-ray Movie Review

Altman Schmaltman

Reviewed by Michael Reuben May 2, 2012

Although Boogie Woogie is supposed to be a dark satire of the contemporary art world, it's really a textbook example of why it takes more than a talented cast to make a good ensemble film. Every major player has done work worth watching, and some of them are even worth watching in Boogie Woogie, but the film itself remains a shambles of cheap shots and easy cynicism.

Robert Altman could have made something interesting out of this material, and indeed screenwriter and producer Danny Moynihan claims to have written his original novel with an Altman-style film in mind. But Altman was a singular talent. Nobody else is making anything quite like Short Cuts, Nashville or even A Prairie Home Companion, which is why those films are so treasured. In any case, the filmmaker to whom Moynihan first turned was Dennis Hopper, who, despite undeniable talent, was never one to be relied on for getting things done. While Hopper was distracted, the project languished and Moynihan lost his original star, Rachel Weisz.

Eventually the film ended up in the hands of a documentary filmmaker, Duncan Ward. Now, there's nothing wrong with documentarians turning to fiction, but a multi-stranded narrative that bobs and weaves among numerous interconnected characters requires a sure hand and substantial skill. Altman made it look easy, as if his camera were just randomly finding people in the midst of living their lives, but that sort of casual appearance is a carefully engineered illusion. Ward didn't have the experience to bring off anything remotely similar, especially when he was burdened with a script written by the producer that had far too many characters for the film's limited running time. Altman also understood that he couldn't be cynical about his characters without also giving them time to breathe, come alive and win at least a little sympathy from the viewer, which is one reason why his films tend to run long. Moynihan and Ward never absorbed that lesson (or didn't care). Their characters are all punching bags, for them and for the audience.

The title refers to a valuable painting by Mondrian that's owned by Alfreda and Alfred Rhinegold (Joanna Lumley and Christopher Lee, the latter giving the film's most memorable performance despite the fact that his character is confined to a wheelchair). The couple has fallen on hard times and sold off almost everything they own of value. They could get millions for the Mondrian, but Alfred stubbornly refuses to sell. He bought it directly from "the master himself" and it means more to him than mere money. In the simplistic equation of Boogie Woogie, Alfred alone stands for art. Everyone else is commerce.

The man eager to buy the Mondrian is a high-powered gallery owner, Art Spindle (Danny Huston). A backstabbing wheel-dealer, Spindle cajoles the Rhinegolds' butler, Freign (Simon McBurney from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), for negotiating tips and inside information. His goal is to acquire the painting for whatever sum is required to persuade the Rhinegolds to sell, then immediately flip it to his best customers, Bob and Jean Maclestone (Stellan Skarsgård and Gillian Anderson), for millions more than he paid.

The Maclestones collect expensive art the way other people collect books, comics or china figurines. Bob is in real estate, which is how they can afford their pastime, while Jean shops and looks lacquered and vaguely dissatisfied. It's an unhappy marriage. Bob routinely cheats, and his current mistress is Art Spindle's assistant, Beth Freemantle (Heather Graham), who services Bob primarily because he's willing to back her in establishing her own gallery. (When she tells Art she's leaving, he's furious. Like many swindling hypocrites, he expects utter loyalty from his own people.) Meanwhile, Jean Maclestone falls into an affair with an up-and-coming young artist, Jo Richards (Jack Huston), who's supposed to be Beth's boyfriend but likes to use his "installation" art as a tool of seduction. Before long, the Maclestones are getting divorced, and a fierce battle ensues over the division of their art collection. Jean gets advice from her wordly friend Emille (Charlotte Rampling, who's terrific in her few scenes), while Bob is counseled by Art Spindle. Spindle will, of course, profit handsomely if any of the art has to be sold in the divorce.

An additional group revolves around Elaine (Jaime Winstone), an aspiring video artist whose digital camera is always running, documenting the minutia of her life and those around her. Indeed, the film opens with Elaine's video record of an argument between herself and her lesbian lover, Joany (Meredith Ostrom), that ends with an ominous crash, the significance of which isn't fully revealed until the end (but you'll figure it out much sooner). Elaine's friend, agent and fellow artist (or so he thinks) is Dewey (Alan Cumming), who happens to be the dog walker for the Maclestones. He uses that connection to get an appointment with Art Spindle, who blow hims off. But Elaine has other ways of advancing her career.

An additional key character is Paige Oppenheimer, whom Spindle hires as an intern at his gallery based on a connection with her father. When Beth leaves Spindle to start her own gallery, Paige inherits her job. Before the film is over, she has accomplished even more, despite a mysterious ailment that is never adequately explained. Paige remains a cipher, and it doesn't help that she's played by Amanda Seyfried, who has doesn't have the acting range to fill in the sketchy outlines of an underwritten role. (Producer Moynihan claims to have "discovered" Seyfried for Boogie Woogie, which will come as a surprise to everyone who already knew her from Veronica Mars and Mean Girls.)

So what happens to the Mondrian in the end? If Boogie Woogie worked as a film, you'd probably care. But you don't.

Boogie Woogie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Whatever the problems with Boogie Woogie as a film, there's nothing wrong with the image on MPI Media's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray. Oscar-nominated cinematographer John Mathieson (Gladiator) has bathed the whole affair in a cold, elegant light that's both tantalizing and off-putting at the same time, much like the pretty, self-centered people who populate Moynihan's story. Blacks are deep, intense colors pop, the details of the fashions, decor and artwork can be made out everywhere in the frame, and there's no noise or artifacting to interfere with your viewing pleasure. Both the lighting style and the digital post-processing have minimized visible grain structure without losing picture detail (a common phenomenon in the age of digital intermediates), but no one should confuse this with some sort of high frequency filtering. This is a first-rate image that, with no real extras to speak of, fits comfortably on a BD-25.

Boogie Woogie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track on Boogie Woogie is enveloping and immersive, but not in the showy manner of an action film. Right at the film's opening, the track hits you with unidentified voices muttering unintelligibly in the surrounds, and this sense of the murmuring crowd is an almost constant presence in the film. You're never alone in the world of art collecting, because there's always someone looking over your shoulder. If there weren't, how could these objects have any value? The sound mix takes its cue from the constant need to know what's hot, what's in, what's now, and the sound designers never miss an opportunity to put city and/or crowd noise into the background. It's an effective technique, and it would be more so if it accompanied a better movie.

The dialogue is clear and centered. The generically jazzy score is by a composer named Janusz Podrazik, who has no other credits.

Boogie Woogie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD, 1080p; 1.85:1; 1:19): The trailer does a good job of conveying the film's tangle of relationships, but its pacing suggests a madcap comedy, which Boogie Woogie most certainly is not.


• TV Spot (SD; 1.85:1, non-enhanced; 0:32): A cut-down version of the trailer.


• Additional Trailers: At startup the disc plays trailers (in standard definition) for Diary of a Nymphomaniac, Made for Each Other, Mercy and Perrier's Bounty. These can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

Boogie Woogie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've wanted to see Boogie Woogie ever since I read the cast list, but I kept my expectations low, because I guessed that a film with this many familiar names must have problems to have passed through theatrical release with so little notice. As it turned out, my expectations weren't low enough. The film is a tragic waste of acting talent. If you're curious to see the performances (especially those by Christopher Lee, Gillian Anderson and Charlotte Rampling), the Blu-ray is worth a rental. Otherwise, I can't recommend it.