Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Flawless Blu-ray Movie Review

Truth in titling?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 1, 2015

Where have we seen this before? A crusty elder, beset with certain health problems, forges an unlikely friendship with another tenant in his building who just happens to be gay. A violent attack by some neighborhood thugs is a salient plot point, but against all odds this oil and water pair ultimately are able to mix, at least more or less. Admittedly Flawless doesn’t offer a waitress with a sick son, a cute little dog or even a road trip, but there’s a certain similarity to As Good as It Gets, at least in general setup if not in tone or execution. In this particular instance, the older guy is not beset with an obsessive compulsive disorder, but has the physical infirmity of repercussions from a stroke. Similarly, the gay man in this outing is not “merely” gay, but a cross-dresser who longs for sex reassignment surgery. Flawless never completely connects its manifold dots, but it provides showcases for stars Robert De Niro (as afflicted cop Walter Koontz) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (as drag queen Rusty). Perhaps surprisingly predictable and formulaic given its somewhat unusual premise, Flawless doesn’t exactly live up to its title but stands as one of the first films that showed what a titanic force Hoffman could be, especially considering the difficulties inherent in this particular role.

Through all the brickbats and accolades that have been thrown at him through the years, Joel Schumacher has amassed one of the more fascinatingly diverse resumes in contemporary film. Is there another person supposedly known primarily as a director who has also managed to not just produce and write but also offer services in costume design and production design? (Cinema trivia lovers will know that a production designer actually managed to head a major studio back in the heady days of the seventies.) Flawless features a screenplay by Schumacher, and had the ostensible helmsman stuck solely to the rather touching if predictable relationship development between Walt and Rusty, the film probably would have built to a more cathartic emotional level.

Instead, though, Schumacher, known for his hyperbolism ( Batman Forever), doesn’t seem to trust in the relatively more laid back ambience of a pure character piece, and so he stuffs the film with, well, hyperbolic elements like marauding drug gangs. While this at least provides some dramatic urgency and (not so coincidentally) the plot mechanics for Walt’s debilitating stroke, it also tends to bifurcate the film between the more intimate (and better) scenes detailing Walt and Rusty forging a relationship and at times inconsequential sidebars that don’t really add to the film’s emotional heft.

Another at least potentially problematic element is Schumacher’s tendency to depend on stereotypes in order to offer up characters who are perhaps instantly “accessible.” Walt is not just a crusty, self important and much decorated police officer, he’s a homophobe. Rusty isn’t just an aspiring drag queen, he’s an overemotional soul who seems incapable of anything other than acerbic commentary. Despite these writing shortcomings, De Niro and Hoffman create two fully formed, and probably more importantly believable, characters whose interactions have the ring of authenticity.

The center of the film, which involves Walter taking singing lessons from Rusty in order to ameliorate the effects of his stroke, offers the most geniune emotion in the film, and De Niro and Hoffman make the most of both the humor and pathos of their scenes. A lot of the other sound and fury in the apartment complex does in fact signify nothing, or at least not much, though there are certain pleasures to be had in little subplots like a tenant who, while male, may have been Taylor Swift’s inspiration for her well known proclivity to disparage former flames through the medium of song.

While dramatically and tonally more than a bit uneven at time, Flawless manages to achieve a certain impact due to impeccable work on the part of De Niro, and commendable if somewhat mannered work from Hoffman. De Niro’s recreations of the devastating effects of a stroke are truly remarkable (my own father-in-law suffered a debilitating stroke last year and I can say from personal observation that De Niro’s mannerisms are spot on). Hoffman is a bit too florid for his own good, though Rusty is such a layered and at times problematic character that it’s somewhat remarkable that Hoffman’s portrayal is as naturalistic as it is. This may not in fact be flawless or even “as good as it gets,” but it’s decent if spotty at times.

Flawless Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Flawless is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.83:1. Elements are in generally very good condition, with only very minor damage and age related issues showing up. Colors have maintained a generally very nice authenticity, with detail and fine detail (especially in close-ups) at overall very commendable levels. Schumacher and cinematographer Declan Quinn favor somewhat gritty, naturalistic lighting schemes, a choice which is not always fully supported by slightly anemic contrast and at times milky black levels. However, despite an abundance of fairly dark scenes scattered throughout the film, there are no signs of compression artifacts. In brightly lit environments (which can include interior locales like the drag club stage), colors pop very well and detail in costumes is excellent. There are no issues with image instability, and as is the case with virtually all Olive releases, no signs of excessive digital intrusion, with the result being a natural and organic looking presentation.

Flawless Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This is the rare Olive Films release that features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and Flawless offers good opportunity for some sonic immersion in its use of both source cues and on screen sung sequences. Otherwise, though, this is a fairly front-centric track, offering dialogue and even some environmental effects never venturing much out of the center position. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range rather wide for such an ostensibly intimate outing.

Flawless Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 2:29)

Flawless Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Joel Schumacher has had a somewhat middling track record as a director, with some big box office hits which were nonetheless ruthlessly disparaged by critics. Flawless didn't even have the benefit of people lining up in droves at the ticket counter, but perhaps ironically it's one of Schumacher's more effective outings. De Niro offers yet another brilliant portrayal, overcoming some of Schumacher the scenarist's too convenient character tropes. Hoffman is saddled with a much more difficult role in some ways (despite De Niro's need to mimic a stroke victim's maladies), and as a relative newcomer the "seams" may show a bit more in his performance, but he's still very effective, especially in scenes he shares with De Niro. The film would have been more moving had Schumacher jettisoned some of the tangential material, elements which do admittedly provide color but which also distract from the focal duo. Technical merits are very good on this release, and for the performances alone Flawless comes Recommended.