Equity Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Equity Blu-ray Movie Review

Wall Street Under the Gunn.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 14, 2016

The world of high power finances and the people angling to make their mark, and their millions, in the cutthroat towers of Wall Street is again the subject of a film, this time one made by and starring women in key roles. While the film isn't an overt "girl power" type of movie and doesn't make gender its obvious focus and power play, it does take ample opportunity to look at the role of women in positions of power and how they look at themselves and one another, how men perceive them, how they play in the board room and the bed room, and how their biology can get in the way of their success. It's not a particularly captivating film either structurally or dramatically; it can never quite seem to sort itself out, to determine if it's a movie of female empowerment, a critique of how women are treated in a male-dominated world, or a straight-up financial Thriller. It works best when it runs with the latter, but it does well enough with its other ideas and ideals, its shortcomings more an issue of a failure to interestingly explore, not in what it has to say.

Center of attention.

Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) works for the largest investment bank in the world. She's hard-edged, all business, and knows her stuff. She loves numbers, winning even more, and money above all else. The job, and the security it offers, brings her happiness and a feeling of power she can't get anywhere else. But there's a "perception" about her that she's not ready to take the next step up the corporate ladder. She recently flubbed an IPO and is now in the spotlight when she heads up another for an upstart tech company that promises impenetrable security on its social media platform. Working alongside her on the project is her eager, upstart, and pregnant assistant Erin (Sarah Megan Thomas). The two work hard to promise the company's young and eager CEO (Samuel Roukin) the market debut his company demands, but will it be enough to prove her mettle in the business world once and for all?

Equity's main problem is that, even with the gender reversal of the typical Wall Street-style film, it cannot escape the same burdensome characterization tropes and world cliché. But maybe that's the point. Characters are motivated by the same wants as their male counterparts, and the film even intelligently and thematically interestingly bookends (more or less) with a quote that takes gender out of the equation and simply gets down to the nitty-gritty of what it's all about: money. The movie is as much about the rush of the deal as it is commentary on social issues and the "glass ceiling" that Anna Gunn's Naomi Bishop cannot crack. To the film's credit, it's not just a "poor, poor pitiful her" story. No, she's a flawed character whose results, not simply her gender, are her greatest obstacle to the top. The film does very well in having its say but not overwhelming the narrative with commentary. Still, it's decided lack of dramatic novelty and interesting character turns, even flipping gender stereotype, are its primary hindrances and what keep it more in the middle of the pack than a head above the rest.

Anna Gunn, who rose to stardom from her work in Breaking Bad, stands strong in her role, finding a depth of character and both understanding and dismay of her world equally well. She's very good at what she does, ambitious, but careful and calculating. She's absorbed in her work, but not obsessed with it. She understands her shortcomings, and the shortcomings of those around her. It's not necessarily a powerful performance, but it's knowledgeable and nuanced. She's surrounded by several other good performances. Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas both produced and wrote the screenplay. Their understanding of their characters, and the movie's plot points, themes, and structure, are obvious. They command their scenes and play off both Gunn and the men in the film with impressive detail-oriented work.

Equity Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Equity arrives on Blu-ray with a basic, nuts-and-bolts but technically sound 1080p transfer sourced from a digital shoot. The image is squeaky clean, with little evidence of source noise beyond a few lower-light shots. Details are terrific. Close-ups are texturally friendly, revealing extremely fine fabric detail, evident particularly on the many high end business outfits seen throughout the film. Facial close-ups also reveal, probably in more depth than the actors would like, pores, freckles, and lines. Colors are fine, particularly some brighter attire against what is often a fairly bland gray-dominant background. The little things also present well, too, like a green pen that plays an important part in the movie. Black levels are satisfyingly deep and true. Flesh tones appear accurate. Compression and source problems beyond that light noise are not immediately apparent. This is another classy 1080p presentation from Sony.

Equity Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Equity's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is mostly a product of dialogue blended with some light support pieces. Street-level ambience is appreciably healthy; the stage is littered with passing cars, squealing brakes, and other assorted details that nicely recreate the outside world in the listening area. Likewise, a rattling subway car, background music and din at a bar, and a couple of environmentally aware details, like a buzzer ringing off to the side, are about the extent of the movie's chief sound effects. Music plays with a light underneath quality, adequate width along the front, and strong clarity. Dialogue delivers from the front-center. It's lifelike and, unsurprisingly given the dearth of competition, well prioritized for the duration.

Equity Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Equity contains a couple of featurettes and a film festival Q&A. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Girl Gang: The Equity of Empowerment (1080p, 8:31): A discussion the women who invested in the film, the dearth of female-produced films, females working in male-dominated sectors, and investor cameos in the film.
• Grey Lines: The Making of Equity (1080p, 14:17): An examination of core story themes, plot basics, bringing investors onboard, Meera Menon's direction, cast and performances, the film's capture of the reality of women in finance, scene specific details and dynamics, and more.
• LA Film Festival Q&A (1080p, 16:03): Meera Menon, Samuel Roukin, Alysia Reiner, Sarah Megan Thomas, and Anna Gunn discuss the film in much the same manner that was covered in the featurettes but with a few new insights into the themes and characters.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:07).

Equity Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Equity plays well thanks to its performances and sound technical craftsmanship, but even with its reversal of typical male-dominated roles it can't escape genre cliché. It also doesn't push its issues so hard that it loses sight of the greater truths within. It's true to its characters and world, and even if the movie stumbles at times, its ability to create a believable world is its best asset. Sony's Blu-ray release of Equity is pretty basic, delivering the expectedly strong video and audio qualities and a straightforward allotment of extra content. However, though the absence of a commentary track is a mild surprise and major disappointment considering how well spoken cast and crew are in the other extras. Rental.