Gerry Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Gerry Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 5, 2020

After experiencing success with “Good Will Hunting” and “Finding Forrester,” director Gus Van Sant decided to cleanse his filmmaking system with 2003’s “Gerry,” a deliberate attempt from the helmer to get back to his experimental roots. Taking inspiration from the work of Euro talent such as Bela Tarr, Van Sant delivers a purely observational viewing experience with “Gerry,” which consists of lengthy takes and limited dialogue, examining the gradual deterioration of two men (Casey Affleck and Matt Damon) lost in the desert, left with nothing to do but walk as they search hopelessly for a rescue. It’s as spare as it gets, which is exactly what Van Sant wants for this initial installment of his “Death Trilogy.”

Backstories hold no importance to Van Sant, who simply focuses on the travels of two men driving out to a remote nature trail for an afternoon hike. They aren’t prepared for the worst, but they experience it, though not immediately. Instead of applying instant pressure, Van Sant takes the long road to despondency, keeping the men jovial as they discuss “Wheel of Fortune” and stroll silently for lengthy takes. Survival instincts kick in after a day, but mishaps occur, including one of the guys getting himself trapped on the top of a rock. As they slowly dehydrate and lose hope, Van Sant and cinematographer Harris Savides are right there, studying the movement of the duo as they gradually loses urgency, following the pair as they enter harsh environments, unable to overcome heat, wind, and distance as their bodies eventually begin to shut down.

Gerry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's no fresh scan for the Blu-ray debut of "Gerry," which arrives with an aged AVC encoded image (2.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation. It's a softer viewing experience, but detail isn't destroyed, finding some of the locations appreciable, textured with rocks and salt, while distances are acceptable, with mild dimension. Facial features lack sharpness, but wear and tear is noticeable, picking up on burned skin and lips, along with soiled clothing. Colors are muted, with brighter blue skies and white salt flats becoming highlights, and skintones remain in the realm of natural. Delineation suffers at times, losing some detail with evening scenes. Filtering is present, with brief bouts of haloing detectable. Source is in acceptable shape.

Gerry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio choices are bizarre for "Gerry," which defaults to a 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix that isn't commanding, coming through with muddiness and a lack of expanse. Switch over to the 2.0 DTS-HD MA track, and everything brightens up considerably, offering a proper sense of cinematic sound, including a direct understanding of dialogue exchanges. Sound effects deliver a crisp overview of banging rocks and shuffling feet, along with howling winds, providing compelling atmospherics. Scoring selections are supportive, offering clean instrumentation.

Gerry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Salt Lake Van Sant" (13:49, SD) is a terrific fly-on-the-wall featurette, showcasing a day of life on the "Gerry" set, which happens to involve travel on salt flats. Imagery includes an endless amount of dolly track and various crew members speeding around on golf carts, while Van Sant, cinematographer Harris Savides, and actors Casey Affleck and Matt Damon figure out what they're going to do for certain shots. It's fascinating to watch the production in motion, dealing with professional obligations and camaraderie (including the sharing of Monty Python quotes), and select events are highlighted, including an injury. Certainly something like this could explore the entire schedule, but what's here is interesting.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:27, SD) is included.

Gerry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Gerry" has little dialogue and scoring only appears as bookends on the picture. It's largely silent, with Van Sant stewing in the sounds of movement. The helmer would go on to experiment with this type of vision again in "Elephant" and "Paranoid Park," but "Gerry" is his only successful foray into cinematic delay, helped along by star power (Affleck and Damon are quite good here) and an initial concentration on an end game for what little here passes for story, lacking the maddening navel-gazing that diminished subsequent efforts/rehashes. Obviously, the movie is a specialized viewing experience for specific mood of filmmaking adventure, and here, taking his first stab at it, Van Sant achieves his creative goals, challenging himself and the audience.