Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

I Think We're Alone Now Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 31, 2020

I Think We're Alone Now stars Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage as the sole survivor of an unspecified cataclysm that killed everyone in the world: everyone except him, it seems. The film is high in intrigue to start but short on satisfaction by its end. Reed Morano (The Handmaid's Tale, The Rhythm Section) directs (and serves as cinematographer) a Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) script that is more concerned with its reveal and less so letting the audience in on more of the story.

Del (Peter Dinklage) is seemingly the sole surviving human on the planet, or at least within a very large distance of the small town he calls home. He scavenges batteries form anything he can find: clocks, flashlights, any household item. He buries the dead, who seemed to have died in an instant, remaining in whatever place and position they happened to be occupying when whatever calamity killed everyone struck. He methodically travels through town, marking the homes he’s searched and planning his excursions on a map at a local library that now serves as his base of operations. Perhaps for his sanity, perhaps because he believes a deadly virus may have been behind whatever killed everyone, he cleans up after himself, disinfects surfaces, and tries to maintain whatever semblance of normalcy still exists. He quietly spends his evenings watching movies on laptops with whatever juice remains in them.

One night, he’s awoken by the sound of exploding fireworks outside the library. Impossible; nobody else remains, he believes -- he has systematically worked his way through the surrounding area -- but the next morning he stumbles across a wrecked car, its alarm blaring, a gun and fireworks in the back, and a person knocked unconscious in the front. She’s out, but she’s alive, and when she comes to inside the library, quarantined in another room, it is agreed she will leave and continue to wherever she was going. But Grace (Elle Fanning) chooses to stay with Del. He’s reluctant to accept new company and upset his methodical way of solitary life, but the more time he spends with her, the more he warms to the idea, even if she disrupts routine and eventually forces him to confront his own fears, and she her own.

Like most movies that explore solitude at the end of the world, this one is at its best at the beginning when it’s a quiet, wordless, reflective story of one man’s new life in a world turned upside down by an unknown tragedy. Following his strict structure for survival and slowly coming to understand the world as he does makes for compelling viewing for the character’s personal response to the new way of life. But once Grace is introduced, the story loses some of its allure. While Del’s life is now more complicated, the story from the audience’s perspective becomes more ordinary and less dynamic. The longer these films stick with character solitude the more effective they are, and I Think We’re Alone Now begins with a very short first act before springing Grace into Del’s life. The film never builds to a satisfying emotional resonance, even as Dinklage does a fine job of allowing the audience quiet access to his psyche through first-rate acting that allows the viewer to know him, to feel as he feels, to see and understand the world as he sees and understands it, often without saying a word.

While there’s no time frame given for when Del’s story begins, from the time of the unspecified cataclysm that killed seemingly everyone but him to when the film starts, it’s clear from context clues that it’s not too far distant into the beginning of the new world. For example, Del finds plenty laptops with enough battery power remaining to allow him to watch some movies; it's unlikely so many would still be charged after a year or more. This doesn’t really seem to jive with the revelations into Grace’s story, which would ultimately suggest a far longer period – several years, at least – between the time of the end of life on Earth and the beginning of the story. With few answers and not much feeling of structural cohesion, not to mention the disappointing details surrounding the reveal late in the film, a satisfying start to a promising story gives way to a lesser experience by film’s end.

I Think We're Alone Now Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There are some photographically softer shot corners here and there, some inherently smooth elements obvious throughout the film, including right off the bat at film's start during a shot looking straight on down a deserted town street. The picture is rather flat and visually uninteresting for the duration, holding to a somewhat bleak, low light, low color output style that works to reinforce the sense of loss, death, and loneliness, though not yet decay; it does not appear that the world has yet deteriorated from the passage of excess time. But even as it's dark and not very visually interesting the image proves quite adept when it's well-lit (particularly in daytime exteriors), offering good, stable textures in relatively static and closeup shots that show complex facial details with satisfying, if not a little bit baseline, intimacy. General details around the houses Del loots, the library in which he peruses the stacks, and a few other key locations throughout offer a decent amount of quality core definition and enough clarity to spot some of the accumulating dust even in less than forgiving light. Color output, as noted, is more or less limited, with dimmed interiors often favoring shades of gray with colors muted for effect. Some brighter clothes seen outside, particularly those that Grace wears, do offer a decent feel for good contrast and modest punch, which seems more accentuated in those rare moments of greater color intensity. There is some sporadic noise in lower light, such as during a dusk dining scene around the 40-minute mark. Black levels push lighter than ideal at times and in the darkest corners one can spot the occasional burst of compression artifacts, perhaps most notably at the 75-minute mark and again at 1:22:30. On the whole, however, and within the film's lower light parameters, it's difficult to find too much room for complaint; it's hard to envision the film looking drastically better than this on Blu-ray.

I Think We're Alone Now Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers a fullness and richness that puts it on par with the better of the similarly configured tracks on the market. Whether considering music or sound effects there's a tangible, oftentimes sonically exciting feel for dynamic output and deep immersion into the movie's moments. Fireworks pop early in the film with excellent spatial awareness, including a tangible overhead layer. Surround implementation here, and elsewhere throughout the film, is full and seamless while the low end packs a healthy punch, too, as those fireworks pop with impressive depth. The track offers fine extended atmospherics in some of the more serene outdoor scenes (whatever killed humanity apparently did not wipe out the entirety of the avian population, too, or canines for that matter). The track is in full command of its elements and, with well rounded dialogue at work, there's little here that isn't first-rate. Also included is a very viable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, but it lacks the stage command and absolute richness the Atmos track delivers.

I Think We're Alone Now Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Momentum's Blu-ray release of I Think We're Alone Now contains a trio of cast and crew interviews, all of which remain rather superficial, exploring the story, structure, themes, performances, and the like. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not currently ship with a slipcover.

• Reed Morano - Director (1080p, 12:30).
• Fred Berger - Producer (1080p, 7:02).
• Elle Fanning - Actor (1080p, 10:10).

I Think We're Alone Now Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Audiences favorably inclined towards end of world films and scenarios and survival may well find I Think We're Alone Now offering enough intrigue to satisfy, but the lack of a greater dynamic engagement, the feeling of implausible timing, and the somewhat weak finale (particularly in light of the scant information about the event that killed most everyone off) all point more towards a missed opportunity rather than a first-rate story of one life after mass death. I Think We're Alone Now's Blu-ray offers solid enough video, a terrific Atmos soundtrack, and a trio of bonus interviews. Recommended, imperfect as the film may be.