Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

I'll See You in My Dreams Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 1, 2015

The longer one lives, the more one learns about life. The greater the experiences one accumulates, the more one comes to realize that the naive notions of youth are but an illusion that cloud the path of life's true direction. Long gone in advanced age isn't just that youthful agility but, more important, that feeling of invulnerability. Time brings with it a true harbinger of life's unalterable end destination. One begins to realize that life isn't simply a series of steady events but rather a gradual downward turn that's best on its spikes and nearly impossible on its plummets, but no matter how high or how low, it's always, ultimately, trending downward. It's inescapable, unavoidable, the "death" in "death and taxes." But it's about the stride, how one takes the journey, how deeply one cherishes the highs and how quickly one recovers from the lows that counts the most in maneuvering through life. It's also about how well one comes to understand how it works that makes the journey a little more bearable, the highs more joyous, the lows a little less painful. I'll See You In My Dreams tells the story of an aging widow whose journey through life isn't all that uncommon, but it's in that microcosm of how it all works that the film finds its strength. A poignant film but also, in many ways, an uplifting film, it acknowledges life's trends but does so with an elegance and grace, a simplicity in delivery that makes it an approachable little glimpse into what awaits and the best ways to take it all in the right stride.

A rare moment of absolute, closed-off contentment.

Carol Petersen (Blythe Danner) is a longtime widow who has just suffered another personal loss. She's determined to move forward, however, remaining in touch with her friends (Rhea Perlman, June Sqiubb, and Mary Kay Place) and even giving speed dating a shot. Then, a jolt. She meets Bill (Sam Elliott), a confident retiree who sweeps her off her feet. The two begin a rather serious and quickly developing relationship that seems the most promising she's had in years. Meanwhile, Carol befriends her pool boy, Lloyd (Martin Starr), an aspiring songwriter around whom she feels quite comfortable, and he with her. Carol also prepares to meet with her daughter (Malin Akerman), whom she has not seen in some time.

I'll See You In My Dreams opens with a brutally honest and heartbreaking moment that sets a somber tone for what is, in a way, a somber film. But it's also a low -- and not the only low -- from which it recovers beautifully with a story centered on the idea that, even as the way forward is littered with pain, there's a silver lining if one chooses to stop and see it. The movie is gracefully emotional as it holds the audience's hand on the way down Carol's own path, a path that challenges her to find the best in a minefield of pitfalls along the way. Yet she wakes up every morning at six A.M. sharp, ready to face life head-on and put her best foot forward, whether caught up in a high or recovering from a difficult low. Carol is a stalwart human being, an admirable pillar of strength who suffers mightily in the film but, in the wake of tragedy, demonstrates the best humanity has to offer. The film is very subtle and precise in the way it carries her and tells her story. It's not teeming with broad, undefined emotion but rather nuanced details that are evident in the script but brought to life by Blythe Danner's unparalleled performance. She conveys very real, very deep emotions in a relatable manner and punctuates the story's core focus on the importance of finding those silver linings and latching onto them as tightly as possible, knowing that they're fleeting, but that so too is the pain.

I'll See You In My Dreams is elegant in its craftsmanship. Director Brett Haley rightly leaves the movie entirely in Blythe Danner's capable hands with a performance that's as profoundly deep as they come, with that depth often revealed by way of a look that says more than pages of dialogue ever could. The film is well paced, due in large part to Danner's work but also the story's intoxicatingly rich and relatable approach to storytelling that gently pulls the audience in and keeps things feeling relatable, no matter the circumstances. More, while the film's protagonist is elderly, the story's greater insights work beyond a number or hair color because they speak more to the essence of life and living it with ideas and developments that cross the boundaries of time and explore a more intimate essence of humanity that might be more readily understood by people with experience under their belt but that do hold true for the greater population. The film further benefits from two extraordinary support performances by Sam Elliot and Martin Starr, with Elliot playing a character more representative of broader, outward emotion and Starr playing a character more critical to the deeper, inward insights the movie has to offer.

I'll See You in My Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I'll See You in My Dreams features an enticingly crisp, detailed, and colorful 1080p transfer. It's effortlessly sharp and attractive, a touch pasty at times but revealing of intricately defined skin and clothes with pinpoint details evident on all variety of backgrounds. Facial features are effortlessly complex, whether wrinkles, thick makeup, pores, or facial hair. Clothes are marvelously sharp and detailed down to the finest fabric nuances, particularly evident on denim jackets. Colors are bold and attractive. There's an evident emphasis on blues and grays. Clothes, furnishings, and even bright blue water look terrific, popping with vibrant authority throughout. Other shades, such as a red seen on a jacket, also stand out nicely and evenly. Black levels are crisp and detailed while flesh tones are fine, if not ever so slightly pale. The transfer suffers from no discernible bouts of banding, noise, macroblocking, aliasing, or other maladies. Overall, this is a very strong presentation from Universal.

I'll See You in My Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I'll See You in My Dreams arrives on Blu-ray with a naturally simplistic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is primarily dialogue intensive, with the spoken word presenting evenly and accurately with natural center placement. Mild background ambience is commendably satisfying, whether light waves splashing against a ship's hull, chirping birds, or a light breeze. Music is nicely crisp and accurate, with well defined notes apparent both in score and music heard at a karaoke bar.

I'll See You in My Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

I'll See You in My Dreams includes only one extra. A Look Inside 'I'll See You in My Dreams' (1080p, 3:28) examines the core story details, character basics, casting, and the importance of portraying the elderly in an honest light. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film in addition to a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

I'll See You in My Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'll See You in My Dreams is a beautiful film, a rich film, a film with a purpose, a heart, and a confident know-how in its approach to complicated and emotional material. The movie is absolutely made by Blythe Danner's remarkable performance and a director who understands both the script's strength and his actor's ability to convey its deepest themes better than any technical tricks of the trade. This is cinema approaching its most beautifully simple and elegant and a movie that hits home with a core idea on what it means to live, even when life doesn't give many reasons to move on. Universal's Blu-ray release of I'll See You in My Dreams disappointingly lacks meaningful extras, but video and audio qualities satisfy. Highly recommended.