Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 5, 2019

“Framing John DeLorean” emphasizes early on that Hollywood has spent decades trying to figure out a way to bring the titular icon’s story to the screen. And yet, with all these competing projects and various completed screenplays, nothing has come of it. Directors Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce (“Batman & Bill”) step up to the plate with “Framing John DeLorean,” but the duo isn’t interested in a straightforward bio-pic of the automobile designer, electing to mix things up a bit by turning the production into a semi-documentary, blending informational stretches with dramatic recreations and behind-the-scenes activity during the shoot. It’s a bizarre cocktail of perspectives and realities, but not an unappealing endeavor, with the helmers using such unconventional storytelling to showcase an unconventional man, finding a fresh way to chart the rise and fall of John DeLorean.

The picture opens with footage of DeLorean inside a small room, taking a lie detector test that covers his business and personal dealings. It’s an appropriate place to begin with a subject who grew increasingly comfortable with criminal behavior during his years, establishing the man’s awareness of wrongdoing and use of practiced deception. We also meet DeLorean as portrayed by Alec Baldwin, who sits in a makeup chair, watching footage of the real thing in motion, getting an idea how to shape his performance to best represent the shifting mentality the role demands. Baldwin is becoming DeLorean, and the helmers keep their cameras going at all times, studying the actor as he prepares for takes and even details direction to the production, maintaining unexplained authority over the shoot. There’s a film within a film in “Framing John DeLorean,” with the endeavor jumping around from fact to fiction without warning, trying to generate a creative approach that gives the title a double meaning and keeps the audience interested in what would otherwise be a simple downfall arc tied to ego-soaked behavior.

Documentary touches are welcome, exploring how DeLorean made his name in the auto industry, rising in the ranks at GM before he was handed a chance to deliver something unique for Pontiac, helping to mastermind the GTO. The car’s stunning success gave DeLorean the power he always craved, taking control of his destiny on his own terms, providing himself with plastic surgery to shape a manly chin and taking on a series of relationships with much younger women. While the GM suits were stuffy and cautious, DeLorean enjoyed taking risks, building his name in boardrooms while denied a chance to reach his leadership potential. He takes a wife in model Cristina Ferrare (played by Morena Baccarin) and welcomes two children into his life, creating a family with Zach and Kathryn. And yet, the comfort of wealth and safety wasn’t enough for DeLorean, who spotted a trend in the rising sales of reliable imports and wanted in.

“Framing John DeLorean” discusses the subject with a few of his closest associates, historians, and even family, with Zach and Kathryn joining the conversation, eager to showcase another side to their father’s personality. The details of DeLorean’s new venture are fascinating, chasing government money to Belfast during The Troubles to build a factory capable of pumping out what would be known at the DMC DeLorean, bringing manufacturing to a community that had no training in the field. He burned bridges with trusted partners (Josh Charles portrays right-hand man Bill Collins) and suffered safety issues with the cars, remaining so focused on proving himself that quality came second to quantity. The helmers survey the bubble DeLorean made for himself, while Baldwin excitedly recreates the man’s greatest hits, revealing that, long ago, DeLorean himself requested the actor be the guy to portray him. There’s a certain pace to “Framing John DeLorean” that works for roughly an hour, but once the downfall portion of the plot arrives, the feature loses its liveliness.

Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.89:1 aspect ratio) presentation juggles a wide range of film and video sources, delivering a satisfactory viewing experience. The dramatic recreation sequences are clearly the most impressive in terms of detail, capturing the nuance of makeup and hair, and period decoration comes through sharply. Interviewees are vivid as well, picking up on age and emotion, while Zach DeLorean provides all the textures, wearing a fuzzy sweater and a knit cap, growing out a bushy beard. File footage looks adequate, reaching the limitation of the sources. Delineation is encouraging, preserving dense outfits. Colors are compelling, securing crisp primaries for exteriors and film footage, while dramatic sequences carry a warmer feel, including a golden filter on photographic displays.

Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix does just fine with the simple goals of the track, leading with dialogue exchanges and interview audio, which all retains a crispness to best extract performance intent and emotionality. Scoring registers well, providing a driving beat to the feature, offering clear instrumentation. Surrounds handle mild atmospherics, most meant to backdrop photograph displays and use of silent film footage. Low-end is sparse, but bombings are notable, along with some industrial visits.

Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features directors Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce, and producer Tamir Ardon.

• Deleted Scenes (72:30, HD) delve deeper into the exhaustively researched world of "Framing John DeLorean," covering Ardon's personal collection of DMC artifacts (devoting his life to the acquisition of personal DeLorean items), design and construction stories, the highs and lows of press coverage, the troubles with the prototype car, additional dramatic sequences with Baldwin and Baccarin (along with several other actors), John's trial experience, the release of the arrest tape (courtesy of Larry Flynt), additional time with Kathryn and Zach DeLorean, and more interviews and moments with the various personalities involved with the rise and fall of John and his DMC dream.

• Still Gallery (7:07) collects BTS snaps, film stills, publicity shots, and poster art concepts.

• And Theatrical Trailer #1 (2:20, HD) and Theatrical Trailer #2 (1:03, HD) are included.

Framing John DeLorean Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's so much to cover with DeLorean's latter years (yes, there's time spent on "Back to the Future"), and the film concentrates on the details of his 1983 cocaine bust, where the mogul was trying to make a fast buck to line his pockets and save his company. The ensuing trial and steps leading up to the arrest are exhaustively detailed, slowing the feature down to concentrate on drug dealing and undercover agent particulars that aren't terribly interesting. Lost in the shock of DeLorean's criminal interests (including the creation of a shell company to hide money) is the ongoing examination of his mental health and his parental influence (Zach and Kathryn have been destroyed by their father's actions). "Framing John DeLorean" becomes procedural, chasing the sexier story of financial misdeeds, which deflates the movie, erasing its human participants. DeLorean's private side is the saga worth pursing here, giving viewers a chance to understand how a man who had everything lost it all in a highly public manner. Argott and Joyce want to Red String the endeavor, and while they connect the suspects and contacts, the heart of the John DeLorean saga slowly dies out.